DREAM WEAVER: THE MICHEL FRANCO INTERVIEW

The films of Michel Franco get in your head, if the titles are any indication. In 2023, he directed Peter Sarsgaard to the Venice Film Festival Best Actor award for MEMORY; he's directed Tim Roth in CHRONIC (2015), and Mónica Del Carmen in THROUGH THE EYES (2012). His latest, DREAMS, reunites him with Sarsgaard's co-star, Jessica Chastain, in a film that is, says the director, "a study of human interaction, where power, vulnerability, and chemistry between the characters intertwine in an emotional and visceral narrative."

Coming off a year-long festival rollout that began with a World Premiere in Berlin and ahead of it's U.S. theatrical launch in February, Michel Franco revealed some truths about the complexities of his sexually-charged, politically incendiary drama, and how his friendship with Chastain helped both artists through the shoot...   

SCREEN-SPACE: DREAMS looks at the world through a love story, a family drama, social inequality – but like all your films it also deals with power and acts of violence and cruelty, often within the context of family structures and relationships.

MICHEL: Cinema is a very good medium to understand the dynamics of families and societies. And violence is something that when it's not glamorized is interesting to see on the screen. It's something that I never shoot in a way that is enjoyable. So it's not a glorification of violence. And it probably has to do with the fact that I grew up in Mexico. We witness how violent acts are committed almost on a daily basis. But it's not something exclusive to Mexico. It happens all over the world. I appreciate filmmaking that instead of escaping the complex realities we have to live and analyze and confront them.

SCREEN-SPACE: After MEMORY in 2023, DREAMS is your second film with Jessica Chastain as female lead and producer. Can you tell us more about your collaboration with her?

MICHEL: MEMORY was fairly traditional; she read the script, she was familiar with my work, she liked it and we just thought we'd give it a chance and work together, and we had such a good experience. And during MEMORY on a lunch break, without realizing, I talked to her about the next movie. At the time it had no ballet in it, but the other elements were pretty much in place. And she said yes, I'll do it, because we were both enjoying ourselves very much. We had no conflicts at all shooting MEMORY. I give actors a lot of space to work. I'm respectful and try to not overdirect, and actors appreciate that. With someone like Jessica, why would I micromanage such a good actress when I want her to expand herself? DREAMS was a different experience because we had lots of conversations before, during and after writing the script. Now we're close friends, so it's a very different dynamic than what we had on MEMORY.

SCREEN-SPACE: Most of your characters in your films are conflicted. How would you characterize Jennifer as a character? How did you discuss that with Jessica?

MICHEL: Jessica likes a challenge, and that's why she likes shooting with me. Because we're not making movies that show only the best side of the characters we're doing, often quite the opposite. To explore the dark side of people. Jennifer, her character in DREAMS is a good person, or so she believes. But then it's easy to be good when you're wealthy and everything is fine and you have no real problems in life. But what happens when you have to face challenges? That's what normal people in the world have to do. Suddenly, Jennifer is troubled. And she doesn't react well. Jessica is at a point in her career where she likes these challenges.

SCREEN-SPACE: How much of the way Jessica portrays her character was determined by the script, and how much emerged during the shoot?

MICHEL: The script is pretty much the script, but how she talks, moves, dresses, that is all pure Jessica. We often discussed how to play a certain scene, and I trust her a big deal because she knows better than me how to represent her character. So why not take advantage of all that experience she has? Especially because she wasn't born into it. And that's exactly, I think, why she understands this role so well. This privileged universe, the universe of privileged people. Jessica is not like that at all. But she knows that world inside out by now. Because, you know, she's a Hollywood star, a celebrity. She's done her bit of research, to say the least.

SCREEN-SPACE: Let’s talk about Isaac Hernández. As a dancer, he is a huge star already. So how did you cast him as an actor?

MICHEL: I had the idea to make the film without the ballet, and then became friends with his sister. She invited me to see him, and I was sitting at an auditorium with 10,000 people. Isaac came on stage before the show in what was supposed to be an improvised way and takes the microphone and says to the audience:  “I don't know why I'm doing this. I just felt like it, but I wanted to thank you all for coming tonight. I'm very shy, so I don't know how I gathered the courage to take the microphone. Thank you for being here, and thank you for making ballet popular again.” And I look around and everyone's smiling and they're into the emotions already, before any dancer has danced. And I said to myself: “He's a terrific actor, and also, he's full of it, because I'm a film director, so I know when you're acting. I may not believe for a moment that this is all improvised, but all the same I'm deeply moved by what you said.” So even before I saw him dance that night, I thought this guy's going to be an actor of my movie. The charisma that he has when he dances really translate to the screen. He naturally communicates emotions and energy. So I also thought, why wouldn’t I give a young Mexican who hasn't acted in a feature before the opportunity to appear with Jessica Chastain?

SCREEN-SPACE: Another challenge for the actors is the general physicality of DREAMS, notably the explicit sex scenes. Why do you feel those scenes were necessary for your narrative?

MICHEL: When I had the initial conversations with Jessica, we understood that these scenes are a central part of the film. She was fascinated by how these things would tell more than just an intimate moment. The story keeps moving forward because of them. There's a lot more going on than just love-making, they are not voyeuristic. They are central for understanding the characters and serve the story.

SCREEN-SPACE: Getting to a level of comfort must take some time.

MICHEL: Shooting such scenes is always challenging. I trust the actors. I don't tell them exactly how to play this in the same way that I don't tell them how to play other stuff. But of course, there's some sort of choreography, and the three of us discussed it until we were all comfortable. And for me, it’s important to rely on my team. I like working with the same set of people over time. The cinematographer has a huge part in making this work, both aesthetically and atmospherically. Yves Cape has been in that role for my last seven movies already, so we understand each other blindly at this point. And that transmits to the actors, too.

SCREEN-SPACE: DREAMS also tackles the complicated issue of immigration. Did that feel like a daunting task?

MICHEL: I have always been concerned about social disparity, economic injustice, how unjust the world is. I'm sensitive to this because I'm Mexican, but because of that social disparity, there's also a large number of Mexicans that try to cross the border looking for a better life, contributing to the American economy and society and cultural life in many ways. And yet they're often portrayed as parasites or criminals, as taking something away from the country, when the truth is the very opposite. These negative reactions are normally related to the lack of opportunities and to social disparities that ironically also exist in the U.S. Critics of immigration often point their fingers in the wrong direction and often look for someone to blame that has no connection at all with the problems that originate in

SCREEN-SPACE: Do you see DREAMS as a criticism of the role of the mega-rich in today’s society? 

MICHEL: I speak on behalf of the vast majority, and we're all tired of how unbalanced the world is. Privileged people seem to be above the law. And they're also constantly preaching but not practicing. This small percentage of the world bringing more trouble than solutions and getting in way beyond what they know when meddling in politics just because they can – because of their money, not individual merit.

DREAMS is in U.S. theatres from February 27, 2026 from Greenwich Entertainment

With thanks to 42 WEST