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Set in 1900 on a sugar plantation in Indonesia, “Sweet Dreams” is a period film about palace intrigue and the destructive effects of Dutch colonialism. But directed by the imaginative Ena Sendijarević (2019’s Take Me Somewhere Nice), the film is strangely twisted delight, much more than a serious sermon about bad behavior in a righteous place.
Acclaimed on the film festival circuit and in Dutch cinemas, the film is the Dutch variety for the 2023 International Feature Film Oscars. The country has won three times in this category, since 1997 with the old drama “Character. “
“When it comes to tastes, I think you can alienate yourself in some way by presenting things that are just beautiful,” Sendijarević said in TheWrap’s Q&A for the film. “We wanted to embrace sweat and pores, things that look like human beings, and bring the total environment closer in combination and make it feel more like a fever dream. That was really important.
Much of Sendijarević’s taste as a filmmaker includes his visual mind. When “Sweet Dreams” begins, he’s aware of the film’s inner sense of sarcasm and diabolical humor. When we first see the Dutch matriarch of the plantation (Renée Soutendijk), her eyes are closed and eyeballs painted on her eyelids. At the beginning, we see a scene from inside the open mouth of a shot tiger.
“I like cinema that surprises,” says the director. “I love watching videos where I have no idea what’s next. Not only in terms of the story but also in terms of the shots. I enjoy watching videos where each shot is a universe in itself and tells its own story That’s what we were looking for when we made this film with the entire team. That was our goal: that each shot tells a story.
Sendijarević also borrowed a device from the novels by adding creative titles about bankruptcies to the film.
“Film is an art form that borrows from other art forms,” he said. “Literature and painting are components of it. So with the chapter titles, it’s a nod to the relationship that cinema has with literature.
Also in the full interview, Sendijarević explained his work with his actors; shooting the film on Reunion Island, a French colony off the coast of Madagascar; and the name of his film, which wasn’t a reminder of a certain popular song from the ’80s.
“I’m very familiar with the song ‘Sweet Dreams’ through Annie Lennox (and the Eurythmics). I mean, who isn’t? It’s a very well-known song and I love it,” she said. “But the name has to do with who is asleep and who is awake. Is it a dream that we live in the movie or some kind of nightmare? There are many scenes in the rooms. And the movie is set on a plantation of sugar and plays an important role at the end of the film.
To watch the full verbal exchange with “Sweet Dreams” director Ena Sendijarević, click here.
The ‘Sweet Dreams’ director explains why she filmed a scene from inside a tiger’s mouth that made the first impression on TheWrap.