The Dream Catcher

What is amazing about this movie is its sensitivity, its patience for nuance, its willingness to tolerate silences, those pauses in conversation when the real communication happens.... We see the characters' faces, the subtle shifts in their expression; we see little details such as the streaks of raindrops on a car window, the little details that make up the fabric of the characters' lives. We listen to their conversations, conversations that develop gradually and resolve not in some punchline but in an open-ended yet meaningful manner. We see cornfields and average American neighborhoods, Midwestern ones on a cloudy day, and gas stations, and diners, and truck-stop restrooms, the kinds of things one normally only sees in real life but not in a movie. We hear the earthy talk of the typical American teenager; we witness the embarrassing sexual bragging of unattractive characters; we witness the warm and peace-pervaded family life on an American Indian reservation: everything in this movie is presented with a subdued, almost documentary-style realism and is yet richly, poetically textured in a way that only a highly artistic feature film, rather than an actual documentary, would typically be. The movie has a European quality about it in its quiet, sensitive poetry, and yet, it is a thoroughly American film that presents Amerian life unmasked, without the typical clichés and packaging in which American life is frequently presented in the media. This film is a must-see.

Following the screening of this film at the Minneapolis International Film Festival, Ed Radtke, M.S. Nieson, and one of the film's coordinators spoke about the film and answered any questions the audience had. When asked a question about distribution, Radtke unfortunately answered with details about distributors' unwillingness to release a film because it may not be the easiest film to market. That is a shame because this film, the Emerging Filmmaker Competition Grand Prize Winner for Best Narrative Feature, may not be seen by American audiences.

"The Dream Catcher" is a film masterfully shot by the hand of up-and-coming cinematographer Terry Stacey in the vision of writer/director Ed Radtke. Their collaborative vision takes the form of a thoughtful and affecting piece about two young hitchhikers who have taken to the road to escape their individual lives. In doing so, their paths cross, and they eventually decide to take to the road together, although Freddy does so quite reluctantly. The two are masterfully contrasted. Freddy is stoic and a thoughtful, some-time thief, while Albert is talkative and an unremorseful kleptomaniac. Both come from similar backgrounds, and their journey never stray from paths deeply rooted in realism.

This film possesses a quality rarely found in studio films. The characters are tragically real, the direction surprisingly adept, and the cinematography has a quality rarely found on a movie with such a low budget. "The Dream Catcher" is a film that, if you have the chance to see (or even have the most minute chance of affecting the possible distribution of this film in any vein), you should see because it has heart not often found in Hollywood cinema.

At the inaugural Woodstock Film Festival, Ed Radtke's "Dream Catcher" took the Maverick Award for Best Feature Film - hands down - good thinking on behalf of the jury... this movie is beautiful...and a must see!

Sounds cliche - but really, I laughed...I cried.... I related, empathized, sympathized - did just about all the "izes" one could come up with.

Everyone I spoke to about the movie who saw it yesterday agreed - they were all blown away with this movie - I only hope it gets a chance to get out to everyone....

Hope this writer/director does a whole lot more for folks like us who love to see a movie that MOVES us - and that doesn't seem wrapped up with placing the "selling points" in a film that don't belong in there. The writing was beautiful, the actors were raw & real, the cinematography and symbolism was alluring... all to the point where you found yourself right alongside the characters... and deeper into the better part of yourself.

Beautiful flick...find a way to see this... Dream Catcher....

I've watched a whole lot of movies in my life. I'm pretty sure "The Dream Catcher" is the best one I've ever seen.

It's the perfect road movie. It's the perfect lost boys movie. It's the perfect American movie.

It's stuck with me more than any other film. The characters seem more real to me than some people I've actually met. The photography is outstanding, and unlike a typical Hollywood film chock full of grand vistas and long helicopter aerial shots and so on, this shows the real America as we'd see it, from eastern railyards to the empty expanse of the Bonneville Salt Flats.

If you're reading this, please do yourself a favor and see this movie.

I was very enthusiastic because the trailer was promising, rich in elements that often appeal to me: the road, life, encounters, emotion. Finally, although the film is very beautiful to watch, with very noble road-movie settings, the story didn't really move me. I had a hard time finding the characters endearing, I think the script doesn't nourish them enough. The dream catcher theme is very little explored while there was a lot to show in that symbolisme In addition, the action is very limited, even non-existent, which makes a double effect of flatness. Too bad because this film could certainly have been much more than that. .