The Dreamers (movie review)

Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, rated NC-17 for some explicit sexual scenes. This is a hard movie to grade, because I really wanted to like it, but it wasn't that enjoyable to watch. Released in 2003, it takes place in 1968 in Paris. The story follows the relationship of an American student abroad and the two French siblings -- one male, one female -- whom he hooks up with. The relationship between the brother and sister is strange, bordering on incestuous, and the three-way relationship that develops among the trio of strangers is equally strange. Viewers may want to see it just for the free sexuality, which is unusually explicit without being pornographic; the rest of the movie, however, has little appeal. Grade: B-