Eric Zonca's beautiful film tells the story of two young women living on the margins of society. Although there is a clear (and powerful, tragic) plot, this is above all a character-driven piece. Zonca shows the relationship of his two protagonists in a manner that seems completely convincing and natural; and forces us to subtly revise our first impressions as the film advances, although the relationship itself is not static but evolving throughout the story. Zonca makes full use of Élodie Bouchez's unusual, expressive face; Lille, the backdrop, is grey and unwelcoming throughout. Beneath the surface, Zonca asks about the different ways we all accommodate fantasy in our attempt to survive; and about the harsh loneliness of modern life. It's not exactly cheerful; but the film pulses with humanity in a way that few others do.

Another in a long string of French films I've watched lately. It has all the hallmarks of a French flick. Lots of character development, thread bare plot. The film has two dynamic, broken people as the protagonists. This movie is like a Hemmingway novel, painful, but totally justified by the ending.Marie, played by Natatchia Regnier, is a lonely soul who falls in love with someone out of her league. She is a tad off, prone to violence, and unable to control her anger at times. She is so obviously used by her lover, that even she recognizes it. Their first date is him inviting her to take a walk in town, but instead taking her to a hotel room. She is reluctant, and disappointed, but cannot resist him.Isa, played by Elodie Bouchez, is the pixie like good girl of the film. She and Marie live together in a house that belongs to a mother and daughter who were seriously injured in a car accident. The daughter is in a coma. Isa goes regularly to visit her in the hospital. She forms a sort of relationship with her by reading her diary. Isa's morality contrasts so much with Marie that it makes Marie's deterioration that much more dramatic.

'La Vie Rêvée Des Anges' set in Lille, France, is in essence a film depicting the beginning and ending of a friendship. We are first introduced to one of the two main characters as a homeless, young girl who has come to Lille, looking for a friend. Hearing that the friend has left Lille, she has no choice but to survive on the street. She is fortunate to find a job at a sewing factory, where she meets Marie (the second main character). This friendship, albeit rather reluctant at first on the part of Marie is the basis for the storyline of the film. As the film progresses we see that it is not Marie who is the stronger person, and the sensible decision maker, but in fact it is Isa, the girl who goes from job to job with a very care-free attitude to life. Isa proves to be realistic, perspicacious and anxious to open Marie's eyes to her self-destruction and in a way opens the audience's eyes. Marie's poor decision of not being able to refuse the man to whom she is attracted, eventually leads to a calamitous relationship where Chriss uses her and this in turn leads to the outcome of the film and the breaking of the friendship between Isa and Marie.The director purposefully uses hand-held cameras, natural lighting, real and natural sets and few sound effects and music (the only music track is in the last couple of minutes) to create the film's intended atmosphere. In a way this dogma-style film-making could be a way to emphasise the freedom in the lives of the two main characters. Together, Isa and Marie enjoy not conforming to the everyday roles of society. The natural way by which the characters live their lives is conveyed to the audience through the use of natural techniques in the filming itself. And perhaps the only music track to appear in the film, is a way of creating a dream- like (giving the film its title) atmosphere at the end of the film, in contrary to the natural techniques of filming which have been up to this point. The death of Marie could possible be a way of showing us the strength in Isa, who is able to carry on her life and find another job, just as before, or in turn it could just be that there are only two choices in their lives – to conform (like Isa in the end) or not to conform to society (essentially like Marie). Having said that, perhaps another intention of using this natural-like film technique is so that the director does not judge the lives of the two characters, but instead leaves it up to the audience to be the judge.From the aggressive and homicidal nature of Marie's character, to the calm and untroubled life of Isa, these contrasts placed together in a film have a great chance of leaving an impact on the viewer, and all in all make it an good and engaging film to watch.

French movies are always different from any other cinema. They don't look like the average Hollywood production, but even though they are European, they can't really be compared to other European movies either, except for the English perhaps. The style of the French and English cinema aren't the same, but the subjects often are. Most of the time you'll get the story of people who have a hard time making the best of their lives, who live in poverty or bad conditions,... You'll not really find that as much in other countries like for instance Denmark, Spain, Italy,... in Asia or the USA."La Vie rêvée des anges" or "The Dreamlife of Angels", as it is called in English, tells the story of two young women, Marie and Isabelle, who meet each other in a sweatshop, where they have to operate sewing machines. Marie is apartment-sitting for a mother and her daughter who are in a hospital and in a coma after they had a terrible accident. Isabelle has been living with her backpack on her back, not knowing where she will end up the next day and sometimes selling handmade cards on street corners to earn a little money. Both have a difficult life and that's perhaps the only thing that really keeps both girls together. They find joy and adventure in one another's company, but sometimes also have incredible fights because their worlds are too far away from each other...If you are looking for a movie that will leave you with a good feeling after you've seen it, than you better start looking for another one. This film has a heavy subject and especially the ending will make you swallow a couple of times. I'm not going to tell you what that ending exactly is, but in my opinion it was the strongest part of the movie and one of the toughest, but also most touching endings I've seen in a movie in recent times. For me personally the rest of the story was certainly worth watching, but not always very original. I've seen it in more movies, but that doesn't mean of course that it can't be any good.The acting certainly is nice. The two leading actresses didn't get a Golden Palm in Cannes for nothing for this movie and I can understand perfectly why the jury decided to give Élodie Bouchez as well as Natacha Régnier a reward. It's impossible to say that the one was so much better than the other, both gave away a strong performance.As a conclusion I want to say that if you are looking for a feel-good movie, this certainly isn't what you are looking for, but if you are looking for a movie with a good subject and some strong acting than you might give it a try. Despite the fact that the story isn't the most original one ever, the movie stands firm on its feet and that's why I give it a 7/10.