To me, the film was about a lack of gratitude. Paul honestly has it pretty good. He’s a tenured professor teaching on a topic he’s passionate about, he has a smart, capable wife who loves him, and by all accounts he lives a comfortable, middle class life with his lovely family. But he feels as though he should have more, as though he deserves more. At literally every turn, he fails to consider or give credit to other people’s perspectives - unless they benefit him. I do think that the whole movie was sort of a dream in his mind, kind of a “you want everybody to be thinking about you all the time? okay, well here you go!” situation that reveals he should have just made the best of his unremarkable but respectable life. And I actually saw the scene between him and his wife near the end where they say goodbye to be what she would dream about if she did dream about Paul. The whole movie, Paul is concerned about what people who aren’t really in his life are thinking about him, and he doesn’t do much in those people’s dreams because he doesn’t mean anything to them. But his wife is pretty much the only person who genuinely accepts him for who he is, so if she did dream about him, it would be a happy dream. Tragically, I think Paul is too blind to recognize what he had until he loses it. Maybe I’m missing something, but in every dream (except for the final sequence which is different for obvious reasons) there’s the dreamer and then there’s Paul, even when he has his own nightmare, so I think it makes sense for it to be Jannette’s dream. Anyway, I think you got this film way more than any other reviewing outlets - appreciate your analysis!

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

I like to think if the whole movie was Paul's dream he'd wake up with a new attitude of gratitude having learned from the mistakes he made in the dream )) Thanks for the great perspective and for watching!

@paulholliman4470

Ай бұрын

You didn't an excellent job of explaining the film. I also saw that people like you when they view you as someone that they approve of. However, like Buffalo Springfield stated, "step out of line and the man comes to take you away. "

@aphroditemercury937

23 күн бұрын

L😊

@quyvette

4 күн бұрын

Omg this is like the only explanation I could find that even resembles how I interpreted the movie. Literally, since the start of the movie we are shown how this guy is a little self centered. It’s like he’s a prick but without the proper attributes/opportunities for it to actually shine through (looks, money, power etc.) And as soon as the opportunity does actually start to present itself he falls for it. From telling his ex about how his wife thought she had ulterior motives (seemingly in hopes that she did), to going to the business meeting with nothing in mind but how they could benefit him, to even going as far as starting to have an affair for seemingly no reason (no apparent marital/home life problems were shown) and then making the apology video about how he’s the victim in all of this. I genuinely think that if he weren’t so deeply self centered he would’ve avoided this whole situation. If he would’ve continued on with his simple, modest lifestyle and not indulged any of it I believe we would have a different movie.

Literally the best analysis I've seen and I watched like 7 videos on this movie. Phenomenal points, thank you for the solid review and analysis

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

Hey thanks! This video hasn't really taken off the way I had hoped but comments like yours and @sheriffliberty9302 make it feel worthwhile! Much appreciated!

@koolmain8159

4 ай бұрын

I agree completely this man knows wtf he is talking about on top of being able make/edit an engaging video. Can’t think of why it has such low views. Maybe mic quality? Who knows. Either way keep pushing you have a great talent.

@brucepalmer261

2 ай бұрын

Great insight. Spot on. Masterclass

I think the reason the ending is so sad is because he's finally succeeded to enter his wife's dream, and even then is still not willing to recognize and appreciate that it's happening. Like the rest of his life. "I wish this was real" - well it is if you choose.

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment, interesting to hear a different take on it 👍

@jonathancrick1424

3 ай бұрын

But 'this' is pretty vague.

@bryanbowling3150

2 ай бұрын

It's not his wife's dream! If we remember in the beginning of the movie, his daughter starts floating in the air while Paul watches. And we realize it's the daughter's dream. Same thing at the end. Paul floats up indicating that it's his dream, while his wife stands watching.

@spiton

Ай бұрын

@@bryanbowling3150holy shit

@FromRootsToRadicals

Ай бұрын

I think its sadder because hes a good guy, just doing his best and gets walked on. Even when it becomes extreme he lets everyone walk all over him. In doing so he is missing out on himself to please others.

I watched the movie twice and felt like parts of the plot went completely over my head. I watched a couple of other explanation/commentary videos but this is the only one that explains the questions I had. Amazing in depth analysis of the movie! The audio between the movie parts and you actually speaking are a bit off, the movie scenes are louder, so a tip for future videos to try and equal out the sound more. Other than that keep up the videos, definitely subscribing for more of these!

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Thanks! Glad you liked the video. I'm not sure how much understanding the layers of meaning is necessary to "get" the movie. Borgli himself said that he got fed up trying to fit all the science and philosophy together in the world he created and just pushed on with telling the story. With this one I happened to have a prior interest in Jungian psychology and emergent mind theories so I was able to pick out some things that I don't think most viewers are expected to. I'll try harder with the editing next time ) Editing is by far the most time intensive part of the process accounting for 80% of the work in making the video. This is mainly due to needing to make sure I don't show too much of the movie so to trigger an automated copyright claim for using the video content. Use of the footage is permitted under copyright law as fair use for commentary but the bots don't know that. Anyway, I'll admit that by the end I got a little bit sloppy and published when I should have checked the audio levels more carefully. It should improve as my editing skills get better )

The trailers were very misleading for "Dream Scenario": I went into this film expecting it to be a lighthearted comedic take on dreams, more akin to "Stranger Than Fiction" in tone. What I got was a strange and dark tale about a man who was so afraid to live life, that he deceived himself into being one way, over being the person he wished to be, expressed through the medium of dreams. The film is confusing, possibly because it was advertised to be one thing, then the reality was far different. The overt references to cancel culture and a person's relationship to celebrity further confuse the narrative, almost like "If you don't get the point of this film, here's something for you to talk about." But with that said, I realise now that the dichotomy between advertising and the actual movie was probably intentional and the key to understanding the film. Suffice to say, your analysis is brilliant and it does give a whole new meaning to the film. Through your lens, it is probably a far superior story than you first think and I shall likely watch it again with this in mind.

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Hey thanks for watching the video and commenting! Yeah, the vibe of that Cranberries song Dreams doesn't really match the vibe of the film. Luckily I only watched the trailer after I watched the film, something I might try to do more often. "What I got was a strange and dark tale about a man who was so afraid to live life, that he deceived himself into being one way, over being the person he wished to be, expressed through the medium of dreams." That's a perfect one sentence summation without all the stuff about Jung, Ants, and collective brain theories which try to dig into why he was afraid and what the dreams were signifying. I think usually the director doesn't make the trailer so I guess once the marketing team got their hands on it the tone changed. Borgli made his own promo, which was cool, but I doubt would have got as many bums on seats! You can check it out here if you are interested: kzread.info/dash/bejne/pa11sc5vmbieYaw.htmlsi=rCGePGjOoy1EUklh

@sambarsketis9632

2 ай бұрын

It's an A24 film though. This is their formula haha. You have to expect it to be pretty dark, off-beat, and in need of an "ending explained" KZread follow-up.

His taking of his wife’s last name and living in her childhood home was also a sign of his inaction and weakness. He’s moved out at the end and hopefully changed his own name back.

I just wish there was an explanation as to how or why Paul just started appearing in everyone's dreams or why his dream self became malevolent or why it all stopped. They do imply that everyone's dreams are all connected through a shared subconscious or something like that, but for a random everyman like Paul to just suddenly appear in their dreams without any control over it whatsoever nor have any clue of what he's doing in them, you would think that Paul has some kind of dream-walking powers without realizing it. Though, I now think that the dreams are a sort of metaphor. Him just being there and just standing idly by and doing nothing while the dreamer's in some sort of dangerous peril represent both his clinging desire for fame and recognition and his failure to obtain it, because nobody besides his family actually cares about him. And I think his dream self's sudden violent and murderous behavior represent his anger at not getting the credit he fells he deserves and is taking those frustrations out on the dreamers.

Imagine if the movie ended with this unexpected twist: after the dream technology was invented, Paul (because he was so angry how his life turned out) would've accidentally found a way to use that technology to go back in time into people's dreams. First, he was just confused, just observing, walking around, then, when he realizes what is happening, he starts torturing and killing people in their dreams (all the people that hated him). It would've been a shocking twist for me, a nice loop. All this 'Paul is in everyone's dream' would've made sense, he would've actually been guilty of everything, but he didn't know it yet.

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

That's a creative alternate ending! Thanks for commenting!

@Ynook

3 ай бұрын

@@TheCinemaDetective Not at all. Thanks for the reply. :D

@LuciferMorningstar-zu1ud

2 ай бұрын

While that is a decent alternate ending, I’m actually satisfied with how they made it. Time travel in films has become a plot point that has been used a bit too much. I like how they did it making it stand out as its own niche thing. Doesn’t get bunched up in the “just another time travel” film.

@Ynook

2 ай бұрын

@@LuciferMorningstar-zu1ud You have every right to have this opinion. I guess I am still a little confused why people dreamed about Paul, especially the killing part. A little 'time travel in dreams' would've been a clean explanation, a nice loop.

@icon-jn1cu

2 ай бұрын

​@@Ynook I think its paul getting his anger and even sexual thoughts out in his own dreams that he couldnt or would never do in real life but because his dreams effect others it made people hate or fear him. The hate making him even more angry causing a violent cycle for others.

So basically, this is a passive-aggressive man with low self-esteem who is having marriage troubles, and the dreams that people are having are showing his emotions in their dream when he's passive he doesnt do anything to help anyone just shows up and stands there, and since he's not talking about his issues when he reacts the people that dream about him can feel his anger, and frustrations that he bottles up inside also when he told his wife about him fantasizing about other women there is a woman who dreams about him, and his wife knows he's not cheating but she knows he doesn't desire her the way he used to

What a great and insightful analysis. I was puzzled by the ending but your analysis made it so clear. Keep it up with the quality content like this and I’m sure you will get a bigger audience on your channel

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment and the encouragement!

It seems to me like sometimes while browsing the internet, you just so happen to come across someone who really knows what they're talking about, who sees a broader picture that others don't pick up on. Thanks for filling us in.

Analysis like this elevates the entire experience of watching movies. Great stuff

Great analysis! The only thing I'd add is that Paul's disappearance from the dreams in the end isn't necessarily ideal. He has stopped resisting his shadow self, but he hasn't overcome or truly integrated it into his personality. In the beginning of the film Paul was deeply bitter and insecure about his mediocrity. The intensity of these neurotic thoughts bled out into the collective subconscious, as you mentioned. At the end, Paul embraced his beta-ness, being made into a clown for his publicists to parade around in French bookstore basements (which maybe also represent the subconscious mind?). The ideal end would be one where Paul reenters the public's dreams as a hero, rather than as a coward or a villain. It's interesting that the influencers can easily enter people's dreams, and that they present themselves as hero's/ saviors in their advertisements. Paul, by contrast, is incapable of entering even his own wife's dreams. Only a real hero can save us from the fake heroes, who sell us utopian dreams (influencers).

Thanks for this video! I really loved this movie, and it bummed me out to look up reviews and find out that everyone-even the people who liked it-were saying it's a commentary on "cancel culture," when the real themes of the movie are so much more interesting and complex than that.

The best analysis I saw so far! I went that way, but couldn't reach that deep. Congratulations! And thank you very much!

Great video as always. I did not realize how important the psychological aspect was to the story before this. I loved the movie especially because of the beautiful sadness of final moments.

I liked the end where all the young people just assumed they knew everything and the way they talked

Loved this movie, really made me think. I also think Cage is a way better actor than people realize. Your video made me appreciate the movie even more by pointing out subtle things i missed or didn't connect.

Phenomenal video best breakdown I could find on KZread about this movie. Exactly what I was looking for thank you so much.

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

Thanks a lot!

Praise. I could list and articulate all the individual aspects of this critique that make it brialliant. Vut anyone reading this already knows. congrats, you have grown my appreciation and enjoyment of this film. Well done.

Man, your's is the best analysis of this movie I've seen so far. Subscribed!

Great analysis, I'm sure we are all collectively looking forward to more breakdowns 👏 . . I think that the appearance of mushrooms in the dreams have a symbolic meaning throughout the movie. Psychedelic drugs are unique among other psychoactive chemicals in that users often describe ‘expanded consciousness,’ including enhanced associations, vivid imagination and dream-like states 🍄 🍄

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Thanks! Spaceman starring Adam Sandler will be next. It's released on Netflix tomorrow and it's based on the book Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar. I've read the book in preparation, it's an exploration of the meaning of life, of existence, all examined through an astronaut and a talking alien that looks like a spider (Paul Dano). Should be lots of good talking points, I'm hopeful that the film will do the book justice. The mushrooms in Dream Scenario are fascinating, it's cool that some of them are like the chocolate chip ice cream that the student is holding. There's definitely a dream-like quality to taking a psychedelic trip. Mushrooms are also fungi and they are another type of life that has been studied for collective intelligence or swarm intelligence, like bees and ants.

Great interpretation, really ties in all the questions that go unanswered in the film

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Very deep analysis and very well done, this video is great

Subscribed! Amazing analysis of this movie! This video deserves a million views + .. keep going! 👏🏿

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

Thanks David! Glad you liked the video and the support means a lot!

Great video! I've got to watch this another three times to understand this, but such a deep analysis is necessary for such a deep movie.

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to ask any questions (not that I'll necessarily know the answers) or share your thoughts!

Thank you for another fascinating video. I moved Dream Scenario up my to be watched list on your recommendation and really enjoyed it. I think you’re spot on with your analysis and it’s certainly enhanced my appreciation of the film. The psychoanalytical approach really helps in understanding the film but I think it works on many levels so that even if you have no knowledge of Jung’s theories (as I do - or don’t) there’s still a lot to enjoy in it. It’s another brilliant performance from Nicolas Cage and more proof that A24 are consistently releasing quality films. I do think it’s also a critique of “society” today, in particular the elevation to fame of those who have done nothing to deserve it (literally in Paul’s case who does nothing in the dreams he appears in) and also the manipulation and abuse of those personalities by those supposedly working in their interests and then the eventual turning against them by the general population when they grow bored of them. I’m still a little puzzled by the opening scene. It’s Paul’s daughter’s dream (as she’s the one to float away at the end) but I was wondering if there was any significance to the events which unfold; the falling keys, shoe and then - I think - a body into the swimming pool. Given all the other dreams Paul appears in feature direct threats to the dreamer (earthquakes, alligators, scary tall men) there doesn’t seem to be the same level of threat here. Do you have any ideas as to what the falling objects signify and/or who they belong to?

@TheCinemaDetective

Ай бұрын

I thought long and hard about the keys and the body. I watched every frame as the body fell, I wondered if it was Paul's body falling from the sky but couldn't identify it. So I couldn't come up with any ideas. If anyone has any theories and I'd be interested to hear as well. Thanks for watching another one!

What a fantstic anaylasis. I was a little confused about the film but really enjoyed it. and after watching your vid really did make the film even better for me with more understanting. Excellent work

Nice breakdown. I loved the ending and found it tragicly beautiful. You have gained a new sub in me.

Absolutely love this vid; it was incredibly inspiring, thought-provoking and really resonates for those on a spiritual journey back to ourselves.

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

Twenty years ago I read a couple of books... Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century by Howard Bloom (It's excellent and I re-read it before making this video) and... Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software And the reason I read them was because I was on my own "spiritual" journey but since I am averse to 'mumbo jumbo' I was trying to find scientific theories that support a 'spiritual' viewpoint. I lean towards the idea of holism, that underneath the illusion of 'things' everything is fundamentally connected at a deeper level. Some people call this oneness God, some the brahman, atman, or tao, the great spirit, the logos, the void, some call it energy, the theory of everything or quantum field theory, some call it consciousness. Since names are labels for things and the one 'thing' is everything labels stop being so helpful and often add to the confusion. Science studies nature by breaking it into parts, and our brains do the same, break the world into separate parts to make sense of it. We just forget to put it back together again. I'm so glad you liked the video, Dream Scenario was a thought-provoking movie with a lot of deep themes, I really struggled to say what I wanted to say. It's that spiritual aspect of the movie that's so hard to articulate, the intersection between psychology and spirituality. Thanks for your comment!

Excellent video my friend. I really can see your channel becoming a staple in the movie analysis side of youtube with names like critical drinker, cinema sins, and cosmonaut variety hour. Although I disagree with the end message of the movie. (I’d like to believe otherwise anyway) “Intimacy isn’t possible as we put on our faces around eachother and don’t show our true motives” I believe (and it’s something I’m working on everyday) that being your authentic self to others, acknowledging the ego yet allowing it to step aside, understanding your shadow, understanding you, will create a reality where you can be very intimate with people. If reality truly is an illusion I believe that you being yourself as authentically as possible will attract those who resonate with you higher and cut out people who don’t. As I’m going through this process, I’m finding that I’m not hiding things from people and that other people are doing the same. I’m finding that my ego and other peoples egos aren’t taking over. I’m very interested, and honestly excited on how my life if begging to transform.

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

I think the human brain is as much an evolved part of our body as anything else. Hence it has it's limitations. If you place an object on the back of your hand you cannot wrap your fingers around that object because hands do not work that way. And while it's commendable to try to reduce ego and understand our own nature there's limits to what a mind can grasp because a mind is something created by evolution to serve survival. It works in a certain way. The very act of being conscious is a division of the world into observer and observed. The mind separates us from our environment before choice can even enter the picture so we can't really avoid putting on a face because it's an unavoidable part of being alive, but we can try I suppose, and that's better than nothing. P.S. Written after drinking too much whiskey so I'll possibly regret it in the morning. Thanks for commenting on the video and your words of encouragement!.

My lucid dream reality check is looking at my hands. I tried for about 9 moths to have my first lucid dream, and begin to think the whole concept was bunk (waking state consciousness within a dream). Well, the first time you do your reality check of looking at your hands, and realize your hands are see-through and then number of fingers you have starts shifting around, it blows your mind! You feel like you're awake, but you're in a dream! At this point, most people get so excited the first few times that they wake up. Somehow, I was able to hold it together and stay within my dream. The next move is always to project out the concept of: "Universe, how can I best be of service?" You will get answers! Characters in the dream will talk to you. Secret information will be revealed. As Edgar Allan Poe so beautifully penned: "All that we see and seem, is but a dream within a dream."

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

As I see it, we're always dreaming, the world that we see when we are awake is entirely constructed by our minds, just with some more constraints. I'm fascinated by visual illusions that reveal this and other phenomenon like the filling in of the blind spot. I think I've had lucid dreams but I never really remember all that much for long after waking up. Maybe I should try a dream diary or something. Anyway thanks for your comment! Did you like Dream Scenario? I'm guessing you did )

Man you did a great job with the details here. Especially with a lot of the hypocrisy and mismatch of identities as paul evolves through the movie. Top notch, i would have had to watch this movie three times to catch all that

This video is the closure i needed to feeling i understood this movie. Thanks!

Great analysis! Thanks for sharing 🙏

Immediately subscribed at the end of the video. I was really wondering how evolutionary biology connected to the themes of the movie (beyond the 'zebra survival' analogy) and you laid it all out perfectly.. 👏🏼

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for subscribing! I'm glad you liked the video. Yes evolutionary biology was a big part, and even the Jungian collective unconscious which was developed as a psychoanalytical theory relates to evolution. Jung believed we were evolved to have the predispositions to see archetypes in the world around us, the hero, the mother, the wise man, the shadow etc these were inherited psychological structures crafted by evolution every bit as much as a hands, feet, or any other visible physical structure. Modern evolutionary psychology, which came later, also argues for inherited psychological structures it just doesn't name them like characters in a comic book )

No matter what the story as a whole implies...cancel culture extremism, self worth as opposed to gratitude from others, etc. This script has no meaning behind the useful purpose of his apoearing in people's dream state. Why dammit why? Why and how did this phenomenon happen? Was he somehow in control of it... subconsciously? Was he being manipulated? These are the interesting questions. Not his constant befuddlement about getting old and irrelevant.

Very well made breakdown. Thank you for a lot of interesting angles on the movie.

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

PLEASE DO THE CURSE! Would love your take on it, especially the insane ending!

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for your comment! I'm flattered that you'd want to hear my take! I can't promise anything because I've mainly been sticking to movies but I'll keep it in mind.

Thank you for a highly enlightening and insightful video, looking forward to more reviews!

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Thanks Ella! Glad you liked it, I've got one on The Holdovers in the works at the moment which is well worth a watch if you haven't seen it :)

Bro. Looking forward to more of your work. I'm gonna go back into your catalog, but, I'm wondering now if you've touched on "Birdman." If you haven't yet, I'd be interested to hear your interpretation.

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Hey Rob! The channel is really on a few months old and I've been concentrating on more recent movie releases because of the higher levels of interest. I might get around to doing Birdman one day, I have seen it but it was a long time ago I couldn't comment without watching it again. Thanks for watching!

Tom Cruzes "Vanilla Sky" delt with dreams as well. It had a great cast & the biggest star in the world, but it was hard to follow like this one. The only good thing about it was there was a sense of closure when a physical reason did unfold, unlike DS. I wouldn't watch either one twice, but I do think we are in need of a movie that deals with our obsessions with instant gratification, whether it be for our physical or emotional desires. It seemed like the producers couldn't decide what they wanted outta this movie & so nobody else knew either.

@stimpy2695

2 ай бұрын

Vanilla Sky is all explained in the elevator scene at the end, he's in a cryogenic stasis. Most the movie is about him needing to wake up from his "lucid dream" and face reality.

Excellent in depth analysis!

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Captain!

Upon being introduced to the dream technology at the end of the film, I half expected the ending to be that multitudes of resentful strangers end up tormenting Paul in his dreams, bit of poetic justice so to speak. I think I would have liked this ending more personally.

I remember walking out of the theater after seeing this, it was such a great feeling. I thought this was one of the best movies I’ve seen in so long and I still do and I cried at the end so it was hilarious everyone else in the theater I overheard them saying what a shitty movie and I was just laughing at that while crying still.

So interesting, love your analysis. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and especially by Nicolas Cage. I like layered, thoughtful, movies. My favorite movies are Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Arrival; which are similar in that way. Does anyone have any other recommendations for movies like this? I want more!! 😅

If this movie was based (even loosely) on actual events, that person is probably somebody you dont want to piss off or harrass. And when he says he has no recollection of being in other people's dreams, it's true.

Well done, super detailed!

Still unsure of how I feel about the movie, but I was struck by the end half with the dream bracelet bit, reminded me so much of the anime movie Paprika which is one of my all-time favourites.

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Most people have said they didn't care for the bracelet bit so much so you're the first person I read that is leaning the other way. I didn't love it but wasn't bothered by it, I had too much love for the film by that stage anyway. It just goes to show how we all have different experiences of movies based on our prior experiences, likes and dislikes. One thing I'm learning with this channel is that watching a movie 3, 4, or 5 times and really studying it is only increasing my enjoyment. So if you're on the fence I recommend watching it again. It's amazing how the second viewing can change. Thanks for your comment!

Excellent explanation!

Makes sense. Explains the last part of the movie where we see the dream technology now out for the public as well. That he has ideas, but he never do anything about them and others steals them and make it big. Yet, he still dreams of influencers talking about the idea was his. I think the movie is about many things, such as surrounding the zebra idea because it is being mentioned multiple times and the scene in the beginning in the class where he explains it, suggests it's about today's woke and cancel culture. That either you stick your head out and become a target or you stick with the herd like sheep. That scene makes it clear what direction this movie is going. You see it in the scene when all the students went after him at once and published the video to cancel him. Or at the restaurant where he was reading the zebra book that everyone in the restaurant wanted him out. Same with the picture in his office when the agency called him to tell him everyone backed out of projects. That picture was of one zebra. Alone, easy to spot, easy target for predators. He mentions it again with the young woman at the bar when others were staring.

Love your view on this ❤

This reminds me more of what happened to Freddy Kruger that got him thrown in the furnace. Kids dreaming of him.

Now I feel so much better about telling people to watch the movie now that I can send them this video as a follow up as well! ❤

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

Yes please share the video! That would be cool!

Sheesh. This is a spot-on analysis. And good things to consider in general, movie or not.

Great breakdown. Turn up the volume. I think this movie will go over peoples heads. Nick Gage had a great performance. I think maybe Jim Carry could have pulled it off, but not to many actors could.

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Nick Cage was great. Jim Carrey would have be interesting too! Thanks for your comment!

Loved your video ❤️ keep going

I am going to watch the movie on Tuesday. Really looking forward to seeing how I view this movie . Very interesting Cinema Detective. I love the Scottish accent as my Mother was born in Scotland, though she is no longer with us. My own name Heather, ofcourse comes from my Mother's heritage. Success with getting to 1000 subscribers.

@TheCinemaDetective

Ай бұрын

Hey Heather ) Lovely fine Scottish name your mom gifted you ) We're always singing about the heather in all our old Scottish songs. My favourite being "The Wild Mountain Thyme" if you haven't heard it. Enjoy the movie on Tuesday and come back and let us know what you think after watching )

Amazing analysis. Thank you!

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

You''re welcome! I started this channel because I often found myself searching for commentary after watching a good movie. I've found it's a fun way to relive the film, think about it a bit more, and if inclined have a chat about it. Something that we don't always get to do these days with so many people watching films at home rather than at the theatre with friends. Thanks for your positivity, I'm a new channel and it's encouraging to know when someone liked the video!

@waynescottturner

3 ай бұрын

@@TheCinemaDetective well I think it's great that you do that not only for your own benefit, because you can share it here. I'm subscribed now, and I'll have to go through some of the other videos you've done on movies I've seen 😉 Another channel I stumbled across that did several videos just on one movie really did a nice analysis of them. It's the movie margin call, which I was sort of obsessed with, and this is the channel if you want to see what it's about. The analysis is not nearly as deep and overall for the movie, but it does pick apart individual scenes in an interesting way. youtube.com/@BezelMedia?si=CqNfcLYgy2qqeTic

Great video, im just curious about his daughter because sdhe was having dreams about him as well, dose that mean she didn't truly know him as well?

Great video!

I really think that a film doesn't have only one lecture, it could have multiple ones and that's better.

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Everyone watches a different movie bringing their own experiences and biases to it, each viewing completes a new work of art.

nailed it. thank you

I think you are unpacking some of the internal logic of the piece very well -- the sort-of mechanics behind the dreams, but the whole film itself is not literally a dream. The film presents a dichotomy between dreams versus reality, which would be rendered less meaningful if none of it were really happening. The themes of the film are undoubtedly and indisputably about social contagions and mass hysterias, in this case the nature of fame, celebrity and cancel culture, only in this case represented by a dream figure who comes to embody that whole rise and fall trajectory. Both Cage and the writer/director have talked about this in many interviews. Even in the clips you are using from Borgli (in which you've only highlighted certain portions to better support your interpretation) he is saying how it didn't start out about these modern things but ultimately became about these things. The dreams are merely the metaphor. Sure, conceptually it's about Jungian collective unconsciousness, but the story itself is more of a reflection of our modern world and values. It's a social satire more than anything else. So, I think we should disambiguate between the conceptual Jungian framework/the logic behind the film's reality with the actual messaging of the piece. Sure, it's rooted in Jung, but it's actually about social contagion.

Interesting take I’m going to have to give it a watch….thanks!

This amount of ambiguity speaks to an incomplete idea or a lack of direction. If I have to ask what’s happening all the way through the movie and even at the end it’s not resolved, it’s not a good movie.

I agree that the film isn't about "cancel culture," but I think it's about the same issues that lead to the concept of cancel culture. Paul sees all these people in pain and terror, a terror that wears his face. And his only reaction is to feel persecuted, and complain about how inconvenienced he is by it all. He's then mystified when people see him as an asshole, never once acknowledging the pain everyone is going through, let alone that there might actually be a link to him. That sounds an awful lot like what people label "cancel culture." So no, it's not "about cancel culture," but I think it's fair to say it's what this dynamic people call cancel culture is actually about.

Fantastic video! Loved your interpretation.

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Incredible job!

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Thank you!

What a great analysis on this art

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Thanks!

What a beautiful look into it

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Thanks!

I feel like the norio was just a part of the marketing subplot. It has a theme of marketing in the film as well and how humans act and change for a demographic. We identify with companies or celebrities or an artist or a group. In a way, we advertise ourselves, our likeness. They literally say they will buy his life rights. In a sense they own your image or portrayal. It's kind of how he was determined to not change and do sprite ads in the beginning. Later on towards the end he caves and he allows them to change the title and locations of the books. The markets have different demographics. Most people are willing to change to fit in a certain demographic or group per say. Some humans can become shills, almost as they are actually the corporate human ads now. You see it now on KZread videos, as a way to make more money and take control now the youtubers do their own ads. Not saying they are shills but you can see my point as we almost can become in a sense an advertisement. Not so much on a corporate level but more so an identity level. The shills are the ones who don't have their own identity and just become a product. Maybe something like prime or Tesla, yeezy's. Like brands almost become synonymous with humans. How adidas dropped Kanye. They didn't sell his shoes, even though the shoes didn't do anything and they could have still made money but the fact that his name is almost linked to the shoes. We see it happening in real life, now products are now people. Marketing is very collective. The politics and groups we involve ourselves with become an identity and a way we market ourselves.

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Yes I think this phrase 'audience capture' is related to what you were describing. When someone loses their values and identity because they are driven by the algorithm combined with what their audience responds to. This was something that happened to Paul in the film in a way, just becoming a cog in the capitalist machine or a sell out. I think it's partly why the Norio device was in the movie, our own private dreams will be ruined by commercialism if we can figure out the technology to do so. And with ideas like Elon Musk's Neuralink it might well become feasible one day.

It's baffling how off other reviews have been. Good job.

@TheCinemaDetective

4 ай бұрын

It's interesting, I think the dramatic moments like the fart scene and the apology scene sort of overshadowed the quieter moments and became the headlines so to speak.

Wow! Now I realize that I'm just an ape descendent watching pixels flicker on a screen. I enjoyed this movie, but I didn't see what you see until you showed me, Tnx.

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

lol we're all ape descendants )) I didn't understand all that much on the first watch either, there was a lot of rewatching, and research involved to make this video and even then it's just an opinion and I'm sure it's not 100% right just an interpretation. Thanks for your comment!

Great analysis

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Its about entitled and confused coddled minds , who just follow each other's BS. It shows how reality is being run by the stupid out of fear. They are easily influenced and think they are something they are not. The best line in the film explains it, they think they have trauma but they just need to grow up.

I feel like a lot of these comments might be projecting

I thought the movie was about being greedy and not realizing you have what you needed all along and in the end you lost it all blinded by the bs

The one difference in interpretation (which is much less Jungian) was that when the dreams start turning violent for people, it wasn’t because he was becoming more assertive. I took it as a sort of punishment from the gods since it comes right after his aborted sex scene with the assistant. It was the beginnings of him committing a sin against his wife after all the attention brought on him but it’s such a fun movie to analyze

The movie Dream Scenario is about the ego and the collective unconscious, two things awakened individuals should probably try to avoid. Put differently, it’s a masterpiece about destroying the ego and awakening from the nightmare dream state that is society. There are layers and layers of brilliance. . . and Easter eggs throughout. Huge, hearty bravos go to Kristoffer Borgli, the writer/director, Nicolas Cage, Ari Aster, Tyler Campellone, Lars Knudsen, Louisa Carey and everybody else who allowed this movie to happen. I’m guessing it will be one of those timeless mind-benders, like After Hours (Martin Scorsese, Griffin Dunne, Joseph Minion), The Matrix (Keanu Reeves, Wachowski), Out of Breath (A Bout De Souffle or Breathless to Americans - Jean-Luc Goddard, Francois Truffaut, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg - Q: “What is your grand ambition?” A: “To become immortal, and then to die.”), Palm Springs (Max Barbakow, Andy Siara), and The Menu (Mark Mylod, Seth Reiss, Will Tracy). Just a few that came to mind. The ego has to be eliminated, then one can wake up either within the dream state or from the dream entirely. Paul, the protagonist, is forced into a nightmare because of what others think of him. So, for starters, what does Paul think of himself? His ego thinks he should be a respected, published academic. That’s his starting character. His colleague strips that away. He’s powerless and full of lies about his identity. His fantasy is that he has a famous or important academic theory that’s original to him. But it’s empty hope, because it doesn’t seem he’s written any of it down. The ideas were his, but he didn’t claim it or publish it. Who knows if they were even his? It’s all derivative academics, anyway. Ants, bees, zebras - all kinds of biologists study all kinds of animal behaviors. His colleague published before he could or would. Next, Paul appears in the dreams of others. What does that mean? He exists in some important way. He’s validated because he exists in the minds of others. To the others, that amounts to fame and an opportunity to make money. To Paul, it’s an opportunity to be validated for the things he’s dedicated his ego to. He can be the published, respected author and be a dinner guest at the right parties if he achieves something like that. No matter what the method for achieving it is. That’s what his ego rationalizes. He will become himself by being some role or character associated with his role in the eyes of the other characters. He’s allowing the perceptions of others, the collective others, the minds of the unknowns, to define who he is. He gives them the power to define him. And who is he in those original dreams? He’s someone who stands by and does nothing while the others have pressing issues in their dreams. He is not a participant in their dramas or dream activities, the imaginations of their minds. As his emotions and feelings kick in, his dreamscapes are similarly colored. His anger and frustration turn him into a villain character. He has envy, pride, greed, wrath, lust, sloth and gluttony. He doesn’t want to be associated with the Sprite consumer brand - pride. He envies the woman who he thinks stole his idea. Wrath ensues during the midway point. As he follows the temptation of the young siren Molly of the PR agency, he displays lust. His fame can become a sexual realization, but he blows his wad and farts. He becomes despicable and incapable. He can’t even please the fantasy woman character. His body betrays him in real life. He tries to explain that away like some academic scientist-biologist. He’s a grotesque human within a dream within a dream. It’s like Inception (Christopher Nolan). The bar in New York City has people in costume there. We can assume Molly is in costume as a phony fronting for the agency. She maintains that the agency is like a cult and that a thinker academic could see through the bullshit. She appeals to his ego. The advertising PR marketing world is definitely a cult. Aside: Paul is manipulated by women. The colleague woman steals his idea or so he perceives. The siren Molly in the bar tries to convince him to go with the good idea of Sprite sponsorship. When Molly tells him about her sexual fantasy in her dream, Paul replies “we don’t get to decide what happens in dreams do we?” She orders her martini dirty. It’s Halloween and a guy is dressed as Paul. A skeleton-dressed couple record him with their phones. They look like day of the dead characters. This is about ego death. Think of how “antelligence” and beehives and zebras form herds. They communicate as a group story - group unconscious. They share behavior and dream like the professor and all of those in his life. His behavior affects that of the others. So when the nightmares ensue, he tries to explain the dream psychosis away to his daughter. He becomes increasingly isolated. The happenings in real life start affecting his relationships. For example, the siren Molly becomes an object of jealousy to his wife. Being called a loser provokes his meltdown wrath. “Loser” is written on his car. A car is an important extension of the ego in America. In the climax, the self attempts to kill the ego. Paul takes the final killing arrow to his throat (his voice, his words). That’s no accident of directing choice. He’s on a stage with a huge audience watching. His daughter’s play - which is another stage, another dream in real life - is imposing exiles him. He’s effectively thrown out of real life by a woman teacher who is a master of arts (M.A.) not a PhD. This continues the humiliation for his ego. His wife says, “don’t make us all die on your hill.” During Paul’s apology, he says he speaks from lived experience, but he’s talking about a man who looks like him . . . killing himself in a dream. How is that “lived experience?” He’s vilified because people imagine he’s done things. Imagination is what counts? Collective imagination? Does that matter to the man who studies zebras blending in? He must be the zebra that blends in if he wants to clear his ego or have his ego make good with the herd. His wife calls it insincere and self-serving. His daughter says she’s going to have to kill herself. Paul sleeps in a basement at the dean’s house and there’s a gas smell propane tank. Is he being gaslit? Is gas a throwback to his earlier fart? He cannot be part of society. Earlier his wife turned out the light and he couldn’t see. He took off his glasses and couldn’t find the lamp. No visual clarity. In the basement of the dean’s house, he can’t find the light switch. He can’t go into dreamland or sleep. The light keeps him awake. He tries to block out the light with his hand - his self character. Fluorescent or artificial light also hits him in the head and cuts him at some point later. He’s not Paul Matthews when he goes to his daughter’s play. He has shed his character name, his ego, with a simple denial at the front desk. He wants to see the play of his progeny. The M.A. teacher cuts her hand as he tries to get through the door. “Respect our boundaries,” she says. The boundaries between the dream state and the dreamer? His daughter is a white rabbit in the play - a nod to Alice in Wonderland. The dream state (PR companies, the nightmare) take the idea of collective-consciousness/dream-visitation and monetize it. The Hollywood people say Paul harnessed the power of his dreams to terrorize people. He’s not dreamed of anymore. The house he gets has a smell of animals (gas?). The real estate agent acts out a scene of strangulation. Who was strangled earlier? Paul is worried that he’s been replaced by Chris. Why can’t the awakened man go back to his old life - his old house and wife? Is Paul trying to get into his wife’s life with the technology? Does he dream that he says something loving and funny to her? The bookstore is called Rue Morgue or morgue Street. Paul embraces his role as Freddie Krueger and wears the hand-knife costume prop for the photo shoot. He still wants fame for his book. The book is released in the basement - a thin paperback with shortened length. It’s called I Am Your Nightmare. It was supposed to be Dream Scenario. The title works better for the horror film demographic. It works for the nightmare dreamers. For Paul, it’s just a matter of him crafting either a negative nightmare or a positive dream out of his experience. He’s ultimately the dreamer - I AM. Paul accepts the book and is clubbed by the light of ultimate clarity. He gains a purpose or singular intent. He wants connection with his wife’s dream. For it to work the dreamer on the other end has to welcome Paul’s presence. He must be welcome in her dream (a technical point, I guess, but perhaps metaphorical as well). Apparently his wife accepts his presence and he enters her dream. She is a damsel in distress in a ring of fire. He’s made larger by a shoulder-padded blazer - a bigger man character, but in a costume no less. Paul wishes the dream was real. He goes upwards and the screen fades to black. He wishes life was real. But merrily it’s just a dream.

We ARE the “little brains” just like my favorite movie Defending Your Life posits

I also had the thought that his wife and coworker weren't dreaming about him because they knew him personally, but I feel like his kids would've fallen under that. Maybe people who are naive, or fit into the social network are those who see him in their dreams. Those invested in culture? Still unsure.

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

I don't think the older daughter had dreams about him just Sophie. It is a bit of a puzzle why Sophie dreams of Paul when her sister doesn't. I don't really have the answer but here are some more things I noticed... Sophie only asks her dad to drive her to school after he becomes famous. It's an unusual occurrence. When Paul asks her "You think I would cut someone's toes off?" there's a pause before she answers. It's written into the script. When Paul tells her "It’s their dreams, I have nothing to do with it." Sophie answers "I guess..." she's not sure. If we take the position that it's all Paul's dream then who dreams of him represents his own anxieties, his mind chooses who the dreamers are. Which Sophie being so young it could be because Paul has anxieties about his ability to be a father and protect her which are more pronounced than with the older child or the wife or friends. The opening dream is his anxiety about protecting Sophie, she says "Dad, please help me! Please help me, please!" before she floats away with Paul doing nothing. The subsequent dreams with strangers are Paul's anxieties about how people perceive him for being a man that can't protect his daughter. First people from his past with a negative view of him like his ex gf and his college "friend" or rather his wife will think bad of him... and then everyone will think bad of him. His fear that he abandons Sophie spirals out of control, he's become this monster, and is only stopped when he takes action to show up for Sophie at the play as a father should. And I guess him floating away at the end is an anxiety dream about him being able to protect himself. I think we're all inextricably locked into the culture or the social network. We think and communicate with words invented by thousands of years of ancestry coloured by emotions that were crafted by evolution through the survival struggle of millions of years of our ancestors. We carry them all inside us, in how we think and feel.

@jakemiller-rr5fq

3 ай бұрын

I like your explanation. You've convinced me haha.

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

This is the internet... you're not supposed to say that lol @@jakemiller-rr5fq

@jakemiller-rr5fq

3 ай бұрын

haha I've broken the one rule of the internet

Nice breakdown.

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Thanks!

This movie was really good. I expected it to be a lot goofier, but every time I started to find something funny it snapped right back to eerie and extremely uncomfortable. People will examine this film many years into the future, I took a film study course in college and would’ve loved to write about this and discuss with the class

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Yeah I really liked it. Lot's to delve into under the surface!

Hearing “it’s not the size of your mind but what you do with it that matters” in a Scottish accent was surreal. I just know all the lads with all bag and no pipe felt that 😂

@Fuqannchudd

2 ай бұрын

This was not my only take away from the video btw, great analysis 👏🏼👏🏼

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

"all bag and no pipe" lol Thanks for watching all the way to the end!

Paul was indeed flawed; he was making mistakes in his life with his family, with his personal life in not being more assertive in his wants, needs, desires and he did need to improve his communication skills with his wife but In no way did he deserve any of the harsh treatment he got from his students to the dean of his college, not even from his own wife, the movie was just sad all around! 💯🔥😉😁👍

Seems to me more like Kristoffer Borgli's critique of the Scandinavian social conformity pressure, in line of The Hunt (2012) and Speak No Evil (2022).

This film was so sad he didnt deserve all that it was tragic

I used to have a recurring dream where I get on a bus (public transportation) and it would get on the expressway and start going super fast so I hold on to the rails walk up front to see the bus driver and stop him but I find out it’s Satan driving, then I try n figure out how to stop him, naturally I kick him a lot but my kicks are powerless 😊

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Like that scene where the dream influencers visit Paul and he tries to hit one of them but he's powerless )) Kristoffer Borgli was talking about it and said it's a common theme in his dreams... the powerless kicks or punches.

This is great

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for your comment!

"Paul only shows up in dreams of people who don't know him" - not true. his daughter was the first one we knew of, and his old flame dreamed about him too.

@TheCinemaDetective

3 ай бұрын

It's possible to know someone and at the same time not really know them well. There are lots of hints about the distance in Paul's relationship with Sophie. She doesn't remember the time he saved her in the swimming pool, she only asks him to drive her to school after he becomes famous, she is hesitant when he asks if she believes he could do the terrible things. She's not sure. That said I have somewhat revised my interpretation of who dreams of Paul. If we consider that it's all Paul's dream then who dreams of him represents his own anxieties. His first dream is an anxiety dream about his inability to protect Sophie. His subsequent dreams are anxiety dreams about what people will think of him for being the type of father that can't protect his daughter. People who he thinks already have a bad opinion of him are the next to dream of him, the ex gf, the wife of the old college friend. Then it spirals out of control, his anxiety is everyone will think bad of him. If I was making the video again I'd rephrase it. It's about trust and confidence and the strength of their relationship. The wife, the friend, don't dream of him because they have more confidence in him, so he doesn't have the same anxiety about what they think of him. Thanks for your comment! :)

great comment

Wristband ex Machina. That subplot lets the movie off the hook. And us too.

@Senriam

3 ай бұрын

How?

@jonathancrick1424

3 ай бұрын

I'll have to get high again and let you know. I can't remember right now.

Seems spot on if you asked me. Not that you asked. But, here I am, aren't I?

I wish people could just talk normal

There are a lot of similarities between Paul and Walter White

He reminds me Walter white even the company being stolen what’s going with these teachers getting their ideas jacked

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Yeah I can see that Walter White comparison!

Wow, I don't know if this is a genius analysis or if he is reading way more into the movie than there is

I loved Dream Scenario, but my wife hated it. Que sera sera...

He should of took that sprite deal 😊

@TheCinemaDetective

2 ай бұрын

Given how things turned out yeah )