43 Comments

My favorite dreamy movies: In the Mood for Love (and perhaps even more so the sequel, 2046), Picnic at Hanging Rock, the 1981 Brideshead Revisited miniseries

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I was just coming here to make sure In the Mood for Love had been recommended! Tony Leung being handsome and sad in the rain? Maggie Cheung’s thousand incredible dresses? Perfection. I could watch the noodle shop slow-motion scene on an endless loop for years.

The 1981 Brideshead is also wonderful, though it leaves me wanting to slap John Gielgud upside the head, which punctures the dreaminess somewhat.

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Omg John Gielgud is HILARIOUS in it though

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He is! He is the worst man and the worst father and you find yourself yelling “SERIOUSLY, DUDE? omg” at a venerable British thespian.

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He’s so dreadful! Poor dumb baby Charles never stood a chance. I watched that adaptation more times than was strictly healthy in 1989-91 & should definitely revisit it now, especially with the very Brideshead-influenced Saltburn out now

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You deserve a prize of some kind for being the first to recommend In The Mood For Love, which is Dames Nation’s Choice for peak dreaminess!

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Not sure it's dreamy, exactly, but I find Moonstruck quite swoon-inducing.

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A perfect film. Perhaps a touch histrionic for the specific dreaminess I’m looking for, but also one of my favorites of all time & very swoony

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The Piano, Room With A View, Somewhere In Time...

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You’re singing my song! I looooooove A Room With A View (see link below) & am overdue for a Piano rewatch. Somewhere In Time is new to me — thank you!

https://twobossydames.substack.com/p/a-room-with-a-view-bonus-tracks

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Dreamy movies? Petite Maman, Chungking Express (particularly the second part with Tony Leung) and my highest rec is the 1998 Japanese film After Life, it’s beautiful. Also Local Hero.

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we stan Tony Leung, Dreamy King

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Most of these are new to me — thank you!

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The Secret of Roan Inish.

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An all-time favorite, and perhaps the wellspring of my affection for stories about remote islands & the people (and selkies) who love them

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Minari

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Thank you for bumping this one up on my to-watch list

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The Keira Knightley Pride & Prejudice and Portrait of a Lady on Fire come to mind. ...I guess I'm really into period pieces with great soundtracks.

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A+ recommendations, thank you. I should definitely rewatch Portrait of A Lady, what a stunner

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Enchanted April - dreamy af & hits that Persuasion ‘95 sweet spot for me. A little more lively: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a day, Shall We Dance (og Japanese version ONLY!), the green knight, most ghibli films.

These don’t live in the same place, but i find food movies extremely comforting - particularly Mostly Martha, Babette’s Feast, Tortilla Soup.

Also, it’s lowly key a stressful movie (cholera!) but I am obsessed with the Painted Veil. It’s a visual delight and the score is perfect.

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Yay food movies! I love Babette’s Feast & Enchanted April & will look forward to all of the other suggestions 😊

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Enchanted April might be a perfect movie????

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Last Life in the Universe, by Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang. The cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, is the same cinematographer who worked on In the Mood for Love. Dreamy dreamy dreamy people moving through grief.

Like other commenters, I'm in love with In the Mood for Love. This hero compiled all of Maggie Cheung's cheongsams for us for easy swooning: https://www.thepankou.com/in-the-mood-for-love-qipao-cheongsam-complete-list/

Also recommend Wong Kar Wai's Happy Together, one of his less famous movies. Gorgeous Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung being gay in Buenos Aires! Struggling to have a healthy relationship, but - there's tango! And above all, QUEER ANGST!!!

Apparently Happy Together inspired Chloe Zhao to become a filmmaker - thereby birthing the amazingly dreamy Nomadland.

Also seconding (thirding, etc?) Brideshead, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Secret of Roan Inish.

Adding: Last Year at Marienbad

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Thank you for all of these & for the cheongsam link. I look forward to this Wong Kar-Wai rabbit hole I’m about to plunge into

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Dreamy Movies are my jam! I used to own an art-house cinema so that was a speciality. In addition to the Wong Kar-Wai and Coppola films mentioned, some personal favorites are : Amelie (whimsical dreamy), Only Lovers Left Alive (dark dreamy), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (western dreamy), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (tragedy dreamy), Russian Ark (single-take ballet dreamy), Ghost Story (sad dreamy), Paddington Bear (charming dreamy), and Miyazaki films...

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i have been meaning to watch Russian Ark since it came out!!

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Amelie! OLLA! Paddington! Nailed it! Please tell me more about your art house cinema days!

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💖 my husband and I started a 1-screen indie in Southwest Missouri call The Moxie. We sold it after our first kiddo arrived but it’s still going strong. 2 screens now! Moxiecinema.com

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Dreamy movie? "An Affair to Remember." Swooning over Cary Grant, sure, even if he IS wearing way too much suntan. The movie too has a whole other-worldly quality. I love the cruise, the scenes at the grandmother's beautiful villa, the connections and discoveries made by Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. As for TV shows that transport and enthrall with scenery and lovable characters, I vote for the simple and beautiful "Heartland," on Netflix, and "Hope Street" and "Yorkshire Vet" on PBS, which offer a different and swoon-worthy life when I need to fly away on a dream.

Keep up the great work, fellow Dames!

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Yorkshire Vet sounds very appealing to this All Creatures Great & Small enthusiast. Thank you, Arlie!

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Adoring this discussion, and happy to see Persuasion represented, Jane Austen’s most soulful novel imo. These days the romcom, emphasis on the comedy, is more my jam but I recently watched a film called One Song - it’s not perfect but is definitely dreamy and just might fit the vibe. Going immediately to cue up In the Mood! Thank you for this! 💕

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One Song sounds very promising — thank you! — and Persuasion forever-ever

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Hey, I'm creating a master list of all of these great recommendations & when I looked up One Song, there were several movies to choose from. Can you tell me who's in it / who directed it? Thank you!

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Yes, apologies, I think it’s: Song One, and it stars Anne Hathaway and Johnny Flynn.

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As for aging, now. It's not for sissies, as we've heard. But it's all we have until it's over. Kiki, enjoy every advantage you have right now to the utmost. Everything is a gift at every age. I don't like things like pain and wrinkles that come with the years. But no one cares. That's a gift too, as hard as that sounds. No one cares! So why should I?

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“No one cares” is so freeing! 💕

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For dreamy YEARNING, I love the 1990 Cyrano de Bergerac with Gerard Depardieu, which i have been missing for decades but just discovered is on YouTube!

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Movies that hit this mark:

Arrival, I Capture The Castle, Gosford Park, Jane Eyre (2010), Magnolia (tw past childhood abuse), Dangerous Beauty, Possession (2002), Remains of the Day, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House (horror), Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022), Far From the Madding Crowd (2015)

Mini Series

North & South (2004), Howard's End (2018), The Cook of Castamar, The Untamed (50+ episodes, just get past episode 3 and it will all make more sense), The Ghost Bride

I have an extensive collection of movies and I just walked myself up to my wall and went: what do I consider dreamy and character driven?

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Thank you for reminding me about The Cook of Castamar! I added it to my queue in some streaming service a few years ago, and need to revisit. Thank you for walking yourself up to your wall and sharing the results of your dreamy/character-driven survey!

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Howard's End, the 1991 version, is the only movie I ever watched and then started again immediately. And believe me, I am the last person I ever thought would recommend this, but I am completely hooked on the OUTLANDER series. The books weren't for me, but somehow the translation to performance is lush, swoon-worthy, PLUS time travel. Intoxicating!

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I have got to revisit Howard's End, bc while I remember watching it w/you & Alyce in ye olden times, I don't think I was ready to appreciate it, and from the way you & other devotees talk about it, I'm sure I'd love it now! Outlander has been on my list a long time, too, but I keep not watching it bc I can't bear to see my beloved Tobias Menzies as a really awful baddie

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I confess I skipped the prison episode where he is the worst. His supreme baddie-ness on that show has not diminished my love for him WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT ME

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