Wow can I understand the mixed reviews after watching this film. I come down on the thumbs up side, partly because of the audaciousness of the script and the pacing, and the clever and well managed homages and allusions to 80s science fiction cinema.
Regarding the pacing, one of the most common criticisms of this movie appears to be that it is "slow" or "boring." In my viewing experience it is deliberately paced, which is not the same thing, and part of what makes it a mesmerizing, dreamlike experience. The somber, atmospheric score adds to this effect. Come True is a curtain blowing in the nightime breeze, in slow motion.
The other main criticism of Come True (a cool title for this particular movie) is how it ends - what is revealed behind the curtain of dreams. The conclusion is unexpected, to say the least, but ultimately, again, I liked it for the sheer audaciousness of it.
There are numerous allusions to classic sci-fi movies of the 1980s. I think Come True has about as much eye symbolism as Blade Runner. In one scene there's a poster of Schwarzenegger from the first Terminator movie, in his famous sunglasses, and one of the secondary characters wears gigantic spectacles clearly reminiscent of Tyrell's in Blade Runner. There is another dramatic homage to the Blade Runner eye symbolism, too, later in the film, but I don't want to give anything away. The plot consciously incorporates aspects of Dreamscape and Brainstorm as well.
All of that is especially interesting if you're a fan of '80s science fiction, but it also somehow heightens the dreamlike quality of Come True. Movies are inherently dreamlike, and almost literally like watching someone else's lucid dreams. It's therefore fitting that this film's tapestry of subconscious and unconscious imagery should be dyed in cinematic references.
As I'm writing this review I'm realizing that, despite its flaws - including what I feel is an unnecessary and eye rolling plot development exactly 2/3 of the way through - I like this movie quite a bit. I don't usually write such long reviews, so that's a reflection of how compelling I found the experience.
Regarding the pacing, one of the most common criticisms of this movie appears to be that it is "slow" or "boring." In my viewing experience it is deliberately paced, which is not the same thing, and part of what makes it a mesmerizing, dreamlike experience. The somber, atmospheric score adds to this effect. Come True is a curtain blowing in the nightime breeze, in slow motion.
The other main criticism of Come True (a cool title for this particular movie) is how it ends - what is revealed behind the curtain of dreams. The conclusion is unexpected, to say the least, but ultimately, again, I liked it for the sheer audaciousness of it.
There are numerous allusions to classic sci-fi movies of the 1980s. I think Come True has about as much eye symbolism as Blade Runner. In one scene there's a poster of Schwarzenegger from the first Terminator movie, in his famous sunglasses, and one of the secondary characters wears gigantic spectacles clearly reminiscent of Tyrell's in Blade Runner. There is another dramatic homage to the Blade Runner eye symbolism, too, later in the film, but I don't want to give anything away. The plot consciously incorporates aspects of Dreamscape and Brainstorm as well.
All of that is especially interesting if you're a fan of '80s science fiction, but it also somehow heightens the dreamlike quality of Come True. Movies are inherently dreamlike, and almost literally like watching someone else's lucid dreams. It's therefore fitting that this film's tapestry of subconscious and unconscious imagery should be dyed in cinematic references.
As I'm writing this review I'm realizing that, despite its flaws - including what I feel is an unnecessary and eye rolling plot development exactly 2/3 of the way through - I like this movie quite a bit. I don't usually write such long reviews, so that's a reflection of how compelling I found the experience.