Imaginatively evoking the inner landscape of human beings longing to connect, to love and feel loved, the film is a parable of happiness gloriously found and tragically lost. “Requiem for a Dream” tells parallel stories that are linked by the relationship between the lonely, widowed Sara Goldfarb and her sweet but aimless son, Harry. The plump Sara, galvanized by the prospect of appearing on a TV game show, has started on a dangerous diet regimen to beautify herself for a national audience.

Requiem for a Dream is a hyper stylized film circling around human drama and misery. With drugs, sex, addiction and the endless search for purpose and belonging serving as its four main pillars, this phenomenon of a film is a vigorous psychological and philosophical experience that still lingers even after two decades.
It is super easy to dismiss this film as an exhilarating outlook into the night life of sex and drugs. But deep within its essence and between its shocking script’s lines, lies a heavily metaphorical motion picture about self-alienation and human connection (or lack of).

The narrative’s rapid succession of events only replicates the fleeting moments of euphoria felt by each one of our characters while under the influence, in contrast to the lasting feeling of despair and destruction they cause. This was masterfully apprehended with picture-perfect camera work and reimagined with unbending editing practices.

Requiem for a Dream presents Four-character arches with interconnected relationships and intertwined structures stitched together with fabricated feelings of intimacy and exclusion. The various camera techniques used became an extension to our characters own perception. In other words, the cameras became an exterior entity to the characters interior substance.
The interdependent relationship between the filmmaking techniques used and the narrative structure were one of reasons we were able to directly immerse ourselves into the characters twisted minds and experiences.

Jennifer Connelly and Jared Leto’s embodiment of two of our central protagonists were nothing short of genius. Both of their persuasive acting techniques and God-like emotional range helped furthermore establishing a real-life connection between the film’s narrative and its intended message!

Requiem for a Dream is not a mere cinematic experience, it is rather a full-on human experience filled with dread, despair and melancholia. An experience that takes its viewers on a heavy emotional roller-coaster ride that will leave them shook and uneased!!

Requiem for a Dream is a fully developed orchestic ensemble with a velocity of epic proportions. The film concludes with an epic climax that has taught us more than our educational systems ever will!!

Imaginatively evoking the inner landscape of human beings longing to connect, to love and feel loved, the film is a parable of happiness gloriously found and tragically lost. “Requiem for a Dream” tells parallel stories that are linked by the relationship between the lonely, widowed Sara Goldfarb and her sweet but aimless son, Harry. The plump Sara, galvanized by the prospect of appearing on a TV game show, has started on a dangerous diet regimen to beautify herself for a national audience.

Release date: March 21, 2001
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Featured song: Lux Aeterna
Music composed by: Clint Mansell
Awards: Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography…