The Woman Who Dreamed of a Man - Film Review

Kvinden Der Dromte Om En Mand, aka The Woman Who Dreamed of a Man, is the salacious and risque latest offering from Danish director Per Fly, social drama meets erotic adventure in a cross-European journey of obssession and fantasy.

The story follows Karen (Sonja Richter), a Danish fashion photographer working in Paris, who in a hotel restaraunt happens upon a man who she recognises from a recurring dream. After being caught following him, she finds that he is Maciek (Marcin Dorocinski), a teacher at a local Polish school. Though both are married (she to Michael Nyqvist's Johan) with children, they embark on a sex based affair while sharing the same living space, a part time romance.

Things fall apart when Karen becomes more and more infatuated with Maciek, to the point she begins hurting her work and risking her family, and as she presses further and futher into his life, he finds himself having to fight back against her intrusions, as their lives are threatened by imminent collapse.

Though Fly is better known for more kitchen sink based realism of the Mike Leigh vareity, The Woman Who Dreamed of a Man leans far more towards proto-fantasist self destructiveness, with a long winded and generally unlikely story lacking in content that sets its course and symbolic venture and manages to fall half way, winding up as a winding and quiet drama without the visuals to make it anything more than ponderous. This, perhaps, is my way of saying that it's very dull in a manner a little more kind. Though only an hour and a half in length, it feels much longer for the wrong reasons.

For much of the film, it is unclear what exactly Fly is going for. Though the initial dalliance between Karen and Maciek would appear to be the "adventure to escape mundane reality" scenario, it never really convinces as such. Though Richter and Dorocinski are capable actors, they are given little of substance to work with, and a visible lack of chemistry makes their escapades feel flat and pointless. It is unclear in particular what Karen's motivations are, since for all intensive appearances her homelife is settled and comfortable, with Johan a patient and amiable figure highly supportive of his wife's career while caring alone for their young daughter. If there is supposed to be some unhappiness on Karen's side, it is never shown or discussed, not even hinted towards. In fact, he lack of care towards her child is one various reasons why she can never hope to gain any sympathy.

Similarly, Maciek is far from likeable, though at the same time certainly not the film's villain. In fact, at times he seems to be burdened by the relationship he has undertaken, and later when Karen's actions become more unhinged he is left to pensively walk through a mine field to keep things on the down low. The fact he shows no emotion until the final stages contributes to the image that he is a drip.

There is barely anything else at all to add to this, other than the bewildering 'dream' aspect which explains the couple meeting and takes its place in the film's title. No explanation is ever given for the significance of this other than conveniance, and certaintly the awkward attempt to bookend the conclusion with a role reversal is frankly lazy and in keeping with the idea that it was only ever an excuse in the first place.

It says much for a film as unfocussed and unclear as this one that, in the climax, the leading lady is left to wander aimlessly and hopelessly in a foreign land, alone and vulnerable, all while delivering absolutely no impact as far as the audience is concerned. If we are supposed to feel for Karen at this point, it is a failing because she never garners such empathy or understanding. Instead, we are left to marvel at her irrationality and naiveity, traits which don't come across as tragic so much as stupid and irritating.

While The Woman Who Dreamed of a Man may have been an attempt at psychologically refined character study by way of sexual games and Last Tango in Paris style pseudo-romance, it falls desperately flat and instead becomes a meaningless story about two unlikeable people with no connection who have an affair for no clear reason then go feral because the script says so. Not so much loathsome cinema as distinctly forgetable and disposable.

4/10