The Dreamlife of Angels: A Review

The Dreamlife of Angels, a French film by Erich Zonca, depicts the ups and downs of the relationship between two young women, Isa and Marie. The movie begins and ends with a lingering shot of Isa, twenty years old, with her colorful sleeping bags packed. When she arrives in Lille she is jobless, and to her surprise and dismay the friend with whom she had expected to stay had left the previous month for Belgium. In her casual manner she takes it in stride.

I describe the plot of The Dreamlife of Angels at some length in order to explicate the vicissitudes of the relationship between its two main characters, Isa and Marie. Detailing the intricacies in the formation and dissolution of their friendship lays bare the qualities and resources that each use in grappling with life. In spite of numerous differences their friendship derives from the ability of each to compensate for some qualities that the other lacks. When Isa finally leaves Marie she cries out, “I would like to see the day when you need people.” A difference between them has become clear: Isa remains committed to life and the ability to dream; Marie surrenders to her delusions.

Upon arriving in Lille, Isa does not look for a job; instead, she makes her own greeting cards, which she sells on the street. By chance she is given a lead about a job as a sewing machine operator and pretends she is familiar with the work, but botches it and is fired. A shared drag on her coworker Marie's cigarette draws them closer, and both emerge with a new friend. Marie tells Isa she had apprenticed as a sewing machine operator when she was sixteen years old and boasts that she has worked for Chanel. Initially Marie appears aloof, but finally becomes more responsive when Isa asks if she can stay overnight in Marie's apartment. The apartment in which Marie lives had been vacated by a mother and her daughter Sandrine after both were hospitalized following an automobile accident. To Isa's delight Marie offers to share the apartment w