Dreams, chilling film with Jessica Chastain about US-Mexico ties
3.5/5 stars
'I want to take care of you,' coos Jessica Chastain's wealthy American in Michel Franco's latest film, Dreams , playing in competition at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.
It is another sparse, clinical work from the Mexican-born Franco, who last gave us 2023's sublime Memory – which co-starred Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard.
In his new film – which will leave you dazed and disquieted, and is likely to rattle around your head for days after watching it – Chastain headlines as Jennifer, a San Francisco socialite whose father's foundation has been funding arts initiatives in Mexico City.
There she met Fernando (Isaac Hernández), a dancer working for the foundation – although we only learn this in flashback.
The film begins as Fernando – who was deported from the United States in 2013 – crosses from Mexico into the US in a truck filled with other illegal immigrants. Dreams director Michel Franco addresses fraught US-Mexico relations in his new film. Photo: Teorema
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