Michel Franco’s ‘Dreams’ Has A Trailer, But Still No U.S. Release Date

Here’s an international trailer for Michel Franco’s “Dreams,” starring Jessica Chastain, which still doesn’t have a U.S. release date. It was picked up by Greenwich in May.

I used to be a skeptic of Franco’s brand of morose cinema. However, his last two films — “Sundown” and “Memory” —were very good, and “Dreams,” which world premiered in February at the Berlinale, looks very promising.

“Dreams” stars Chastain as a privileged white woman who involves herself in a forbidden romance with a Mexican male ballet dancer — he also happens to be an undocumented immigrant, illegally installed in the United States, and that ends up complicating their relationship.

Deadline’s review of “Dreams” claimed Franco is “skewer[ing] woke hypocrisy” — though it’s unclear what exactly that even entails. It’s obviously a very topical film that will bring in much debate whenever it gets released. Raves also came in from IndieWire, THR, The Guardian, and Screen. Meanwhile, The Playlist hated the film.

If you haven’t been keeping up with Franco’s recent work, it’s worth a revisit — these films have flown under the radar. His stark, Haneke-like worldview isn’t for everyone, and he certainly has his detractors, but there’s no question he’s been honing his craft in recent years.

The shock value is still there, but it’s more controlled now, more deliberate. Franco seems less interested in provocation for its own sake and more focused on crafting a sustained, suffocating mood. It’s been a quiet evolution, but a significant one.

Franco, who’s had three of his last four films premiere in Venice competition, was once a regular at Cannes, with four earlier films debuting across the festival’s key sections. He first appeared in Directors’ Fortnight with “Daniel and Ana” (2009), won Un Certain Regard with “After Lucia” (2012), and took Best Screenplay in competition for “Chronic” (2015). He returned in 2017 with “April’s Daughter,” which earned the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard. Over the years, Franco has quietly become one of Mexico’s most interesting auteurs.