What Dreams May Come

The movie begins with the chance meeting of two American tourists traveling in Switzerland. Soon after, Chris and Annie become inseperable, and after their wedding, they bear two children. Many years later, Ian and Marie are killed in a car collision, leaving their parents distraught yet overcoming. Another couple of years later, Chris dies in a car accident as well, on his way to celebrate the "Double D" anniversary of his wife's emotional recovery from their childrens' deaths. This begins his trip into heaven, which is rocky at first during his attempts to console his living wife, then graduating into his acceptance of his immortality and ascemding into heaven, which turns out to be the creation of his own thoughts and settings. When he realizes that he is not completely happy without Annie, he becomes depressed, so it is no surprise that when Annie commits suicide and is sent to hell, he readies himself to rescue his wife from her emotional confines that keep her in her prison of eternal darkness.

The story for this movie is very ambitious, as are the filmmakers who bring it to life. There is an abundance of vivid memories in the form of flashbacks, many of which are precisely used to move the plot along and keep the story moving. Instead of becoming bored with the ongoing story of Annie and Chris's married and parental life, I found myself becoming more and more entranced as their lives unfolded, and say what you will, but the only way to tell a story like this is through flashbacks. If you were to take all of the memories and place them in order at the beginning of the movie, the audience would forget about the important moments that have an effects on the actions and events that take place in later instances of the film. Each one is a separate piece of the puzzle, and they all fit together quite well.

This film is one of those movies that showcases the possibilities for filmmaking in the future. Really, when you think about it, there is no way that the movie could have been made thirty years ago and still have the same impact as it does now. The settings and scenery play the most important role of the movie, for they provide the reason for the emotion and action that affects our characters. The beginning shots in Switzerland show us beautiful vistas of mountains and lakes, which will later become the inspiration for Chris's heaven, as well as many of the paintings Annie creates. Their home bursts forth with color and brightness, proving that color plays a big role in the film. When everyone is alive, everything seems light and airy. After Chris's death, all is dark, and the walls of the home seem dismal and gray. One scene in particular is a scene in which Chris watches his children being driven away in their van down a long line of lilac trees, a slight fog covering the scene. Their is that brilliance of color, yet the dark fog makes us uneasy, hence the accident that kills their children.

Heaven is elegantly portrayed in this film, and is done so with a new twist: that each person has their own private heaven created in the image of their own personal desires and thoughts. Chris's heaven is based on the paintings of his wife, from the mountains of Switzerland to a small island in the middle of a mountain lake with an opulent, airy house. The filmmakers give each scene the precise look of a painting, even after the special effects fade, using vivid colors, lots of flowers and mountainous backdrops, to transport us into Chris's new world. This is one of the most incredible film achievements ever, taking us to a special place that is warm, inviting, and personifies every thought we, as an audience, have ever had for beauty and vision.

Hell is given a truly horrifying and intense treatment, displaying visions of suffering as well as the personal and emotional pain of life that haunts us all. Somewhat like the way in which Heaven is created, Hell is seen as a persons's "life gone wrong," which allows for the creation of their pain-driven eternity. The gateway to hell is a stunning visual image, a vast, smoky graveyard of smoldering shipwrecks that creak and groan. There is also a dismal, endless sea of decrepit faces of hell's inhabitants, that groan and scream at one another. The most striking of all the settings is the overturned cathedral, where Annie resides. The columns rise from the ceiling and go on forever into the darkness, which gives the whole place a sense of the neverending.

There is a unique chemistry between the two leads that carries on the film's emotion and power. Robin Williams is charming, humorous and bold as Chris Nielsen, and through his acting and talent, he is able to make us believe in the love that Chris holds for Annie. Annabella Sciorra is moving as Annie, embodying all of the emotions and grief that set the stage for the second half of the story. When the two are together onscreen, they are happy and in love, and we buy it because they make it appear very authentic. Cuba Gooding, Jr. plays the angel that brings Chris to heaven, doing well in his performance of helping Chris through his struggle to realize his death. Max von Sydow, whose part is not as big as others he has had, is the tracker who takes them all to hell, and his words of wisdom keep the film's informative angle moving.

"What Dreams May Come" will go down in history as one of the most innovative and spectacular films ever made, full of ambition and inspiration. In its story, we are taken on a journey of the human heart, as well as a striking vision of what may lie in store for everyone under God's eye.


FANTASTIC - I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED!   January 15, 2000
Mr N Forbes-warren (Newport, South Wales, UK)
27 out of 31 found this review helpful

I bought this DVD for my wife, as she loves romances whereas I normally love action and sci-fi. But I also think very highly of Robin Williams, having enjoyed his performances in GOOD MORNING VIETNAM and DEAD POETS SOCIETY(and I'm a closet MORK AND MINDY fan!), so I watched it with her, and I was surprised that I ended up enjoying this movie so much! The story tells of a man named Chris, played by the brilliant Robin Williams, who dies in a road accident and goes to Heaven, which is his own personal Heaven, in one of his wife's unfinished paintings. His wife Annie(Annabella Sciorra), who has suffered the loss of their children with him in the past, is so devastated she kills herself and descends into Hell. Cuba Gooding Jnr plays a jovial Heaven 'guide', who shows Chris around and what he can create for himself, but this stiry proves that he loves Annie so much he would, quite literally, endure hell to be with her again. This movie had it all - spectacular visual effects depicting heaven and hell, brilliant performances all round(Robin Williams makes any movie he does worth watching, with the possible exception of that turkey called NINE MONTHS) and a story that will make you think about life in a different angle. The inverted cathedral images of Hell were an imaginative touch, along with the sea of faces and Max Von Sydow as a kind of dark man, or tracker, leading Williams into Hell. Watch this film with someone you love, and you'll appreciate each other more! It's unusual for me to rate a film of this type so high, but there you go. Don't miss it.


"THOUGHT IS REAL; PHYSICAL IS THE ILLUSION."   August 7, 2000
Soaring Heart
20 out of 25 found this review helpful

If you have an interest in fantasy, romance, imagination, originality, emotion and the spiritual realm then you will love this movie! This is a beautiful love story about two soulmates, Chris (Robin Williams) and Annie (Annabella Sciorra). Tragically, they lose both of their children in a car accident. Soon afterwards, Chris dies in a car accident as well, leaving Annie alone bereaved. Chris comes back, in the Spirit, to try and comfort his wife. She can not see or hear him...or can she?

After much suffering over her loss, Annie commits suicide. Chris is happy when he is told in his own private paradise. But there is a problem. Annie went to hell because she "violated the natural order of her journey." Chris responds to the terrible news with "I'm her soulmate, I can find her." When told he does not understand he replies "it is not about understanding! It's about NOT giving up!" Chris is determined to find Annie no matter what the cost. "What Dreams May Come" is beautiful from start to finish but Chris' search is what touched me the most. This movie is about agape love--love so pure that it transcends reason or consequence. Follow Chris through a journey into the heart of love.

This is Robin Williams in one of his best dramatic performances; a must-have for any fan of his. Annabella Sciorra is a wonderful actress and she and Robin successfully portray soulmates. The script is one of the best I've ever heard, full of beautiful thought-provoking lines (such as the title above.) The cinematography and set design are absolutely stunning--an astounding Heaven and Hell are depicted better than I've seen in countless other movies. The soundtrack is deeply moving as well.

I highly and whole-heartedly recommend this movie!


A spiritual film for the senses   March 22, 2005
Nicholas Carroll (Portland OR United States)
19 out of 21 found this review helpful

When I first saw this film in 1998, I was horrified because it was so different from the novel I had just read. I wanted to see a film more faithful to the novel and the beauty and awe I felt when I read it. This is not that movie.

I decided to watch this film again on its own merits. I haven't read the novel for years, so I'm able to see this film with fresh eyes, and judge it on its own merits. Its not the novel, and maybe someday there will be a film that is a closer representation of the novel, but this film presents the director's vision and still provides excellent insights into the afterlife. For that, its worth watching and owning.

This film is visually stunning as they recreated a world as one might expect if a person lived in a painting, or a place that resembled a painting. Having seen some actual works by Renoir, I know the feeling of being transported into another realm on the basis of a painting. This film does it perfectly. The symbology and recurring patterns (sailboats, for example) work exceptionally well.

The biggest changes made from the novel is that this film is about a family's connection in life and the afterlife, and the focus is on the relationships between husband and wife, father and son, and father and daughter. Robin Williams plays Chris Nielson, who meets his soulmate in Italy, and they marry and have two children, who die in a tragic car accident. The wife, played by the exceptional Annabella Sciorra, is institutionalized after the tragedy, and does get better...until her husband also dies in a freak accident. He finds himself in heaven and she's left to grieve alone, which is a burden too heavy for her to overcome. In heaven, Chris meets a few people who explain how the afterlife works (and its so much better in the novel) and then he's hit with the news that his wife had killed herself and was now in a hell of her own creation. He decides to brave the dangers of hell (because one can lose one's mind being surrounded by tormented souls and the thoughts they carry) to rescue her. This is a story of a love so deep, that a man is willing to give up heaven to be with the woman he loves in her self created hell. Amazing!

This dvd also includes the original ending, and while it was more faithful to the novel (and one I would've preferred), I also know why they changed it to the "cutesy ending" we see. Unfortunately, it downplays the way reincarnation supposedly works (the original ending was more realistic) and presents it as some adorable, Americanized version of reincarnation...which is more fantasy than reality. However, imperfect this film is, I give it four stars because of the importance of such a film in bringing any vision of the afterlife to public consciousness. There are not enough films like this being made and I'm one who would love to see more films about heaven and the afterlife (besides "Defending Your Life", "Ghost", "The Sixth Sense", "Chances Are", "Made in Heaven" to name a few). This is one of the better ones out there...but the novel is so much better. If you haven't seen this film or read the novel, I recommend seeing the film first then reading the novel. If you do it the other way, you run the risk like me...of having such a beautiful vision in your head and being disappointed that the film is nothing like your vision. This film deserves to be seen on its own merits. It is simply visually beautiful and if the afterlife is as the film presents, we really do have nothing to fear if we love others and treat them by the Golden Rule.


God Awful...   January 25, 2002
18 out of 34 found this review helpful

Finally caught this on the sci-fi channel and eagerly anticipated watching it after a few folks told me how impressed they were. I have to wonder now about the sanity of these few folks. Or the "majority" of reviewers here who have averaged out this total piece of gargage to 4 stars. Amazon, you should REALLY allow reviewers to give a film ZERO stars, or BELOW ZERO. I feel guilty now that I HAVE to give this one star when it deserves about MINUS TEN. If there is a hell, I think it be would something like being strapped down in a chair with your eyes forced open (like in Clockwork Orange), and being forced to watch this complete misfire over and over and over again, for all eternity. Sci-fi channel shows SO many commercials when they have a feature film, but this time, the commercials were a welcome relief. Wish I had taped this, but if I had I guess I would've just started fast forwarding 10 minutes in, and missed this little glimpse of cinematic hell.

This movie reminds me of other big time losers like Mission to Mars, Battlefield Earth, Thin Red Line, and so on. Lots of pretty effects, but there is nothing else. Put on a nice screensaver and play some music instead. Bad story, bad concept, plotholes enough to fill a stadium, good actors caught up in script-hell, sappy music, makes no sense from start to painful finish. This is a 4 alka seltzer special. They should take the original film, cut it into individual frames, re-arrange those frames randomly, and it would be a big improvement. Slow, slow, slow, stupidity and bad dialogue at every turn. This is like watching Spielberg's "1941" on acid. It's like biting down hard on a big rusty nail and hearing the crunch of your former teeth. It's like having someone take a big sloppy bucket of foul-smelling brightly colored paint, dipping a huge mop into it, and shoving it into your eyes until they exit the back of your head, along with your brains. I bet this screenplay was written with crayons, by the "devil" himself to torture us all. I kept expecting Robin Williams to turn straight towards the camera and scream "help me, how do I get out of this hellish film?!" I think they should add a warning to the beginning of this, "may cause brain cancer, glaucoma, loss of hearing, and tooth rot." Within a half an hour I was glad there were so many commercials because I had the runs. I found breathing difficult throughout so much that I almost called 911. I wish I could write the filmmakers and ask for a refund of the tiny little amount of time in my whole life that was completely wasted watching this utter nonsense.

More painful than a root canal with a power drill. It's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad movie. I really have to question the sanity of anyone who actually likes this. This is paint by numbers filmmaking, done by artists without any hands or toes, or SOUL. This is like listening to a Carpenters album while watching the 700 Club while eating a big bowl of you-know-what sprinkled with brown sugar. I think those responsible for this should be banned from Hollyweird for life. Have I said enough about how much I hated this? Not really. If you have ANY brain cells at all, avoid this hellish experience at all costs. You've been warned...