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Patti Smith: Dream of Life
Patti Smith: Dream of Life Image
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Metascore
66 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 4 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: When people ask her "How does it feel to be a rock icon?" Patti Smith says she "always thinks of Mount Rushmore." Steven Sebring's directorial debut takes a lyrical, stream-of-consciousness approach that is exactly right in his affecting portrait of the "rock-and-roll Joan of Arc." She can bring a crowd of devotees to its feet chanting "Glor-i-a!" as effectively as she can share her pain over the early death of her husband, Fred Smith, her brother, her close friend Robert Mapplethorpe, and other artists she admires. Everyone knows that Patti Smith's music, poetry, and politics are fearless, funny, raw, and original. But this film also captures her physical presence--her gamine beauty and charming, self-effacing style--that will take you by surprise and leave you deeply moved. (Palm Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: James Greenberg
    80
    A knowledge of Smith's landmark contribution as a rock 'n' roll pioneer is not essential, and the film should be a joy for anyone interested in pop culture of the past 40 years.
  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    80
    Frequently beautiful and intermittently haunting and could be called a meditation on aging and mortality, an intimate study of a peculiar variety of fame and a portrait of a genuinely remarkable person.
  3. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Stan Hall
    58
    Most frustratingly, Smith's powerful music is heard only in snatches.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 1 out of 2
  1. MonkeyT
    10
    Beautiful!!!! Serene, funny, moving, powerful, passionate. A gem.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. JohnA
    3
    As much as I feel respect for Patti Smith, her art and over-indulgent self sadly form a thick pretentious cloud behind which her humour and true persona (of which tiny bits in this film are amazing) remains for most part unseen. She is an honest person, true to her beliefs and warm-heartedly leads us through the film but in general, the point is sadly missed - 'Dream of Life' should have been called 'Patti Smith - This and That', due to her exposure to daily routines of painting, taking pictures, singing in and out of tune, walking around graveyards to express respects and gratitude to her ever-beloved poet idols... maybe that was the concept of the film, and to record an in-depth ten years video diary and then try and squeeze it into 2 hours isn't at all greatful or easy, there is still plenty of unnecessary philosophy which might even provoke those more dedicated to drop a yawn or two.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

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