"A gorgeous, sardonic portrait of colonial decline." - Jessica Kiang, Variety
"Sweet Dreams is gorgeously shot, masterfully composed and tightly framed within an Academy aspect ratio, its stylised storytelling never ceasing to captivate." - Marina Ashioti, Little White Lies
Ena Sendijarević’s second feature is a sharp-eyed satire of European imperialism set in Indonesia during the last years of Dutch colonisation. Jan, the dictatorial leader of the family-run sugar plantation, drops dead after one of his nightly visits to his Indonesian housekeeper. With workers on strike, his widow summons their insufferable son and his pregnant wife to the island to claim his succession, only to find Jan has left his entire state to an illegitimate child. Winner of the 2023 Locarno Leopard for Best Performance, Sweet Dreams is a provocative, surreal take on the banality of evil.
This film contains potentially triggering or sensitive content for audiences. Please click here to find out more information.
Part of Dutch Discoveries, supported by Kingdom of the Netherlands.
