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Reviews Counted:24
Fresh:19
Rotten:5
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: This tender tribute to an obscure artist's work is both compelling and visually striking.
Runtime: 80 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Synopsis: In the vibrant, bohemian neighborhood of South Philadelphia, 50,000-square feet of concrete are covered with tile and mirrors—mosaics that were created by Isaiah Zagar, an eccentric, tormented... [More]
Where most documentarians would rest on the laurels of a great subject and riveting present-tense drama, director Jeremiah Zagar has observed too much of his father's creative logic to cheat us with artless hagiography.
The movie feels as if its creator is simply too close to his subject to cover all the angles; perhaps a director without blood bonds might have managed a less claustrophobic look at the clan.
A captivating, honest and thoroughly engrossing documentary with plenty of wisdom, panache and stunning visuals.
Thanks to some amazing archival material...and a little bit of filmmaking as fate, In a Dream blooms and then blossoms.
An involving, sometimes painfully intimate piece that's as much about living with mental illness as it is about a rather remarkable artistic vision.
Top CriticA moving personal documentary.
Almost too ready-made for a movie, this documentation of the lives of a troubled artist, his doting wife and his two grown sons should be dramatic and compelling, but comes across like a mockumentary of cinematic self-discovery.
An unusual and compelling documentary portrait of an artist of dazzling and colorful murals.
The eclectic beauty of Isaiah's complex, labor-intensive art form deserves more process-oriented dissection.
Top CriticCall it forgiveness or codependency, but this highly personal film speaks to all of us in the universal languages of art and love.
When it works, it's well. When it doesn't, it seems unfocused and nearly loses our interest.
The images and emotions of 'In A Dream' will stick with you.
Even in an era of 24-hour confessional TV, this look into complex emotions is gripping.
Because Jeremiah lacks the investigatory zeal to pursue the subplots, which also include his father's madness and his older brother's drug addiction, this lovely film is more evocative than illuminating.
Isaiah's work frequently rewards the camera's roving attention, but his self-absorption and lack of self-insight make him a sad subject even for as forgiving a study as In a Dream.
The tedious documentary In a Dream tells you much more than you could ever want to know about an ob scure Philadelphia artist called Isaiah Zagar.
The sheer visual impact of In a Dream is breathtaking.
A grand gesture, an exercise in epic biography that explodes the intimate details of Isaiah's life and its effects on his family onto the screen.
The film's elements hum into a glorious experience, with its narrative as captivating as its visualization.
Bursting with vivid home movies and loving appreciations of Isaiah’s artwork -- frenzied drawings and monumental mosaics in tile and mirror, many of which now beautify his Philadelphia neighborhood -- In a Dream abounds in visual pleasure.
Top Critic
April 19, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review 
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April 09, 2009:
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