Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Wuchak Released in 2006 and directed by Jason Matzner, "Dreamland" is slice-of-life drama about several people at a small trailer park called Dreamland in the New Mexican desert. A blossoming poetess (Agnes Bruckner) and her sickly Miss America wannabe bestie (Kelli Garner) are both stirred by a newly arrived basketball protégé (Justin Long), which eventually creates conflict. Also on hand are a drug-addled "boy toy" (Brian Klugman), a father struggling with grief & alcoholism (John Corbett) and a couple musicians (Gina Gershon & Chris Mulkey). This is a subdued and mundane indie drama with beautiful New Mexican cinematography, a spiritual soundtrack and reverential tone. From the get-go it is pictorially established that the looming transmission towers represent the Fountain of Life (the Creator) and the healing powers thereof, which draw the physically, mentally or spiritually broken. The cast are at various stages of searching, lost-ness or suffering. One critic panned the film on the grounds that it seemed like "Debbie Downer" wrote the script, but this simply isn't accurate. Yes, there are some sad or foolish facts-of-life addressed, but there's something intangibly beautiful and transcendent going on behind the scenes throughout. Not every loose-end is tied up at the end, but the movie leaves you with a sense of hope. It also leaves you wondering. The film runs 88 minutes and was shot in New Mexico (Placitas, Rio Rancho & Albuquerque). WRITER: Tom Willett.GRADE: B/B- (6.5/10)

josephlord-1 The film's acting, cinematography, story line and all other major film mechanics were all there. I think, for a first and only film, the director did an incredible job of capturing so much of a slice of life; the pains of growing up and the strength of family ties despite external obstacles. I read a lot about the film being called "slow" as if that was something negative. It's not at all.........so much happens beneath the surface and in the eyes of the actors that to miss it means you really should be watching more mainstream popcorn movies or crash bang boom films that seem to dominate the market. This film, if watched and not just on for noise, is a treasure trove of action, but it's deep down and requires an imagination and an emotional Geiger counter to know the heart and depth of the filmmaker's journey.My only quibble was with the casting. The acting was superb but the casting of type was not. Or more specifically the make up mirrors were working overtime. I doubt if anyone as attractive as the two lead females would be in a trailer park setting with perfectly coiffed hair dos and flowing sensual clothing roaming the desert in dream like fantasies. The harsh realities of that lifestyle and some of the redneck thinking and prejudices were totally missing and replaced with ego trips to the make up mirrors....too bad as it's the only false note in the film.I'd like to find out what other films Jason Matzner has planned or if the low box office on this film prevents him from doing another. It's a shame if it does because it's a wonderful film that engages you unknowingly and holds you to the end, which BTW, is a perfect ending to an almost perfect film.I hope the film gains an audience and a second breath in the DVD and Netflix market. Too bad we can't go back and muss up some of the gals lipstick and hair dos! Or introduce some characters, at least one, with more downtrodden existences in their trailer community.....they do sometimes, have those folks in trailer parks.....sometimes too often.

miker75058 I've been really down on independent movies lately for their tedious pace and bland characters. However in Dreamland, while we do have a slow pace so common in independent movies, the characters here a very interesting to watch and there is an emotional story in the movie. In the movie, we have an eighteen year old high school graduate whose life revolves around taking care of her alcoholic father and her best friend diagnosed with MS. She has a chance to leave the trailer park for college but feels that she would be selfish to move away from the people that depend on her. She even lets her best friend date the new guy in town even though she has feelings for him. We see that it is her father and her friend who are actually being the selfish ones for for being too dependent on her kindness and not letting her move on with her life. The performances here are outstanding and the characters are interesting especially John Corbett and Gina Gershon in a bit role. But I do have to agree with some reviewers here that Justin Long was miscast as the basketball prospect/ love interest. It would have been more believable if he were a track star and not a basketball star.

gradyharp DREAMLAND is one of those little Indie films that sneaks up on you, draws you in and leaves you feeling fulfilled. Written by Tom Willett and directed with great sensitivity to both style and message by Jason Matzner, the film boasts a truly remarkable cast in every role and the ensemble acting is some of the finest in this year's lineup."Dreamland" is the name of a very small trailer park in New Mexico, out in the sticks, yes, but surrounded by the magnificence of majestic clouds in crystalline blue skies and a land free of industrial detritus - except for the powerlines that play such an important role in the story. In a sad trailer house live Audrey (Agnes Bruckner), a poet who has given up chances for college to remain with her father Henry (John Corbett), a man decimated by the death of his wife to the point that he is unable to leave the trailer even to buy the beer and cigarettes that sustain his life. Audrey also is caring for her closest friend Calista (Kelli Garner), a beautiful girl who dreams of becoming Miss America but knows her life is to be shortened by the fact that she suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Audrey writes her poetry but her life is consumed by being the caretaker for Henry and Calista.Into the trailer park moves a new 'family' - hunky young Mookie (Justin Long) and his mother ex-singer/performer Mary (Gina Gershon) and her live-in boyfriend Herb (Chris Mulkey). Audrey and Calista watch them unpack and while both girls find Mookie attractive, Audrey talks Calista into dating him. Audrey's only male contact is her 'sex-buddy', tacky and gawky Abraham (Brian Klugman) who works at the local convenience store with Audrey. Mookie and Calista begin an affair while Audrey looks on longingly, and when Calista lets Mookie know she has MS the relationship is strained: Mookie also is leaving for the university soon.Audrey confesses her feelings for Mookie and Calista flees on a motorcycle to chase the now departed Mookie. She is in an accident and is hospitalized and since she has broken her relationship with her caretaker Audrey, Henry manages to draw enough courage to leave his trailer to sit at Calista's hospital bedside - along with visits from Mookie. Calista's accident makes her even more aware of her fractured future and she releases her feelings for Mookie, reconnects with Audrey, and Audrey's father discovers her many letters of acceptance to college she has hidden to prevent abandoning her role as caretaker and convinces Audrey to flow with her dreams instead of being imprisoned in Dreamland. And the manner in which each of the characters in the film resolves the changes now facing them is the tender ending of the story.DREAMLAND is created by a very strong cast of fine actors who dwell solidly within their characters' psyches, making this somewhat surreal story very real indeed. The setting is extraordinary in its ordinariness and the camera-work by Jonathan Sela is impeccable. This is a strong story about coming of age, about quality of love, and about being human. It is a treasure. Grady Harp