Movie Info
Movie Name: Imperial Dreams
Studio: Super Crispy Entertainment
Genre(s): Drama
Release Date(s): January 20, 2014 (Sundance)/February 3, 2017 (Netflix)
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Going home is hard…especially when you are just out of prison
Bambi (John Boyega) has dreams of getting out of his life. Trying to raise his son Day (Justin and Ethan Coach), Bambi finds starting his life after getting out of jail is more difficult than he ever believed. Unable to get a job, a license, or a house, Bambi and his son live out of his car and avoid the violence of the Watts neighborhood around him. Bambi is a writer and telling his story could be his way out!
Written and directed by Malik Vitthal, Imperial Dreams is a drama set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. The film was originally released in 2014 at the Sundance Film Festival but wasn’t released until February 3, 2017 as a Netflix exclusive.
When Imperial Dreams was filmed, John Boyega was a relative unknown. He had made waves in Attack the Block in 2011, but he was not a household name. Now with the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakes, Boyega is a bigger name, and it makes a lot of sense to release Imperial Dreams now. It isn’t a bad movie, but it also doesn’t seem to do much new.
Pure happiness!
The story for the film is unfortunately rather typical. The struggles of Bambi are struggles which have been portrayed in other similar films. He’s a good guy in a bad situation and society’s structure doesn’t even give him the opportunity to get out. While it is a general, basic story, the movie does frequently skewer expectations by not having the typical outcome (a negative, tragic ending would be expected). While this helps elevate the story and make it more real, it doesn’t also make for the best storytelling at points.
The movie is lifted by Boyega. He does a strong job holding the film together and also deserves credit for pulling off his accent. He’s boosted by an equally strong supporting cast that helps keep the movie going.
Hope survives
The movie also looks quite nice. Los Angeles is generally shot two ways…glamourous or depressing. This movie has a little bit of both. While most of the film presents the dark and scary Los Angeles that is dangerous and not safe, the movie has glimmers of hope including a horse ride in an empty lot and the ending sequence in which the characters seem to have a chance to make it.
Imperial Dreams is a solid movie but it doesn’t feel like a distinctive movie. It does however show potential in both the cast and the filmmaker. The movie is trapped in that in amping up the drama and events of the film, it would feel less true. Part of the nice aspect of the film is that it isn’t overly-dramatic…but that doesn’t always make for great storytelling.
