Feelings of displacement — of loss of home, country and language — are balanced by the vivid imagination of a better existence. In other words, Radio Dreams is a quintessentially American stor
The movie’s tree-falling-in-the-forest-with-no-one-to-hear-it denouement is an apt but not entirely hopeless metaphor for the condition of its characters.
Jalali peppers this darkly funny, often absurdist piece with enough socio-political messaging to add heft but not didacticism. It all makes for a singular, well-observed balancing act.
Radio Dreams is a witty, low-key exercise in deferred gratification.
70
Village VoiceAlan Scherstuhl
Village VoiceAlan Scherstuhl
The film examines, with wit and patience, the hard work of community-building — and the toll on someone far from home, doing work that’s not his calling.
63
RogerEbert.comNick Allen
RogerEbert.comNick Allen
Radio Dreams is an example of both the compelling passion and polarizing fallibility that can arise when a director works primarily from the heart.