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[[quoteright:190:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/whatdreamsmaycomemovieposter_5561.JPG]]
'''''What Dreams May Come''''' (1998) is a dreamlike, slightly trippy journey through the afterlife, as experienced by Chris Nielsen (Creator/RobinWilliams), and his soul mate Annie Collins (Annabella Sciorra). It is based on the 1978 novel of the same title by Creator/RichardMatheson and directed by Vincent Ward.
'''''What Dreams May Come''''' (1998) is a dreamlike, slightly trippy journey through the afterlife, as experienced by Chris Nielsen (Creator/RobinWilliams), and his soul mate Annie Collins (Annabella Sciorra). It is based on the 1978 novel of the same title by Creator/RichardMatheson and directed by Vincent Ward.
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'''''What
''What Dreams May
* AndYourRewardIsInfancy: Invoked. Chris and Annie choose reincarnation over heaven and hell.
* AnywhereButTheirLips: When Christy and his daughter in the shape of a grown up Asian woman embrace, he only kisses her on the forehead to avoid any [[IncestSubtext awkwardness]].
* AnywhereButTheirLips: When Christy and his daughter in the shape of a grown up Asian woman embrace, he only kisses her on the forehead to avoid any [[IncestSubtext awkwardness]].
* BaitAndSwitchComment: When Chris returns from talking to his wife in hell, he tells Al that he is giving up. Al thinks he gives up on his wife, but then it turn out Chris meant he willing to [[RefusingParadise give up on heaven]] and his kids and stay with his wife in hell.
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* BookEnds: [[spoiler:At the beginning and end, Annie and Chris meet at a lake when their boats crash into each other. At the beginning as adults with actual boats, and at the end as children with remote-controlled toy boats. Chris even says the same line from the beginning of the movie.]]
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* CrypticBackgroundReference: ''Double D-anniversary''. Christy and Annie are repeatedly referring to his event without an explanation until towards the end when we flashback to the scene where this term was coined:
--> ''Christy:''' Today is kind of a D-Day. "D" for decision, I guess. About divorce.
--> '''Annie''': That'd be two D's, wouldn't it?
--> '''Christy''': I stand corrected.
--> ''Christy:''' Today is kind of a D-Day. "D" for decision, I guess. About divorce.
--> '''Annie''': That'd be two D's, wouldn't it?
--> '''Christy''': I stand corrected.
* {{Determinator}}: Christy is determined to find his wife in hell, no matter what.
* EekAMouse: Annie freaks out when she sees a tarantula in her BlackBugRoom.
* EmpathicEnvironment: The afterlife seems to reacts to the character's emotions. When Christy gets angry about his wife ending up in hell, a storm rages in the background.
* EmpathicEnvironment: The afterlife seems to reacts to the character's emotions. When Christy gets angry about his wife ending up in hell, a storm rages in the background.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Annie's hairstyle changes throughout the flashbacks which helps the viewer to keep track of the timeline. Annie has long hair when she meets Christy and all through the happy family times, gets a TraumaticHaircut after the kids die, has a stylish bob cut four years later when she has recovered.
* {{Flashback}}: Many parts of the story are told through flashbacks Christy is having along his journey.
* FocusGroupEnding: The original ending was the main character loses himself in his wife's personal hell. Test audiences didn't like it, so it was replaced with a more upbeat ending where he saves her which is also how the original novel ends.
* ForegoneConclusion: Christy's narration lets us know that his kids would die soon after: "It was the last time Annie and I saw them alive."
* FocusGroupEnding: The original ending was the main character loses himself in his wife's personal hell. Test audiences didn't like it, so it was replaced with a more upbeat ending where he saves her which is also how the original novel ends.
* ForegoneConclusion: Christy's narration lets us know that his kids would die soon after: "It was the last time Annie and I saw them alive."
* GenderBlenderName: Chris is nicknamed Christy.
* GoIntoTheLight: Chris goes through a tunnel with a light at the end, symbolizing his passing over into the afterlife.
* GoIntoTheLight: Chris goes through a tunnel with a light at the end, symbolizing his passing over into the afterlife.
* InterfaithSmoothie: The film blends Eastern mystical concepts of reincarnation with Judeo-Christian concepts of monotheism, heaven and hell, as well as an EpiphanicPrison for those that commit suicide. Dogs go to heaven, too.
* KilledOffscreen: The children's accident is not depicted.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: The VHS release spoiled Annie's suicide on the back of the box. And then the DVD release did it again.
* LimitedWardrobe: Justified. For all scenes in the afterlife Chris wears the same trenchcoat he died in.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: The VHS release spoiled Annie's suicide on the back of the box. And then the DVD release did it again.
* LimitedWardrobe: Justified. For all scenes in the afterlife Chris wears the same trenchcoat he died in.
* MagicalLibrary: In the novel anyway, where it's explained that every kind of knowledge is available in this Library, including when someone will die. Also, it contains every book ever written, including the ones that haven't been written yet. People who are still alive can visit the Library in their dreams, but very few remember upon waking.
* MagicalNegro: Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character, who acts as a mentor towards Christy in his afterlife.
* MindlinkMates / OneTrueLove: Christy and Annie are made out to be this, e.g. by showing how they are able to communicate with another even after Christy is dead. Lampshaded by Christy: [[LoveAtFirstSight From the first moment]], it was like ... soul mates
* MrExposition: Albert in the afterlife, explaining to Christy how everything works.
* MagicalNegro: Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character, who acts as a mentor towards Christy in his afterlife.
* MindlinkMates / OneTrueLove: Christy and Annie are made out to be this, e.g. by showing how they are able to communicate with another even after Christy is dead. Lampshaded by Christy: [[LoveAtFirstSight From the first moment]], it was like ... soul mates
* MrExposition: Albert in the afterlife, explaining to Christy how everything works.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: Although the movie is primarily about the afterlife, its protagonist does hang around in the living world as an invisible, intangible ghost for a bit, unwilling to bear leaving his home or wife. When he tries to touch her, she's immediately overwhelmed by her grief and wails miserably, which convinces him he should move on and spare her from the pain of his unseen, unreachable presence.
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* RefusingParadise - [[spoiler: After escaping Hell, Chris and Annie have an opportunity to spend eternity in a literal house of their dreams in Heaven, but choose to be reincarnated in order to get a second chance at a successful ChildhoodFriendRomance.]]
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* RefusingParadise - RaceLift: The film is diversifying the cast. Albert is played by black actor Cuba Gooding, Jr.,and Leona is played by Chinese-American actress Rosalind Chao. While the book never explicitly identifies either character's race, the most logical assumption is that both are white, since Chris himself is white, Albert is his cousin in the book, and there's one scene where he remarks that he hardly ever saw people of "other races as well as my own" when he was alive.
* RefusingParadise: [[spoiler: After escaping Hell, Chris and Annie have an opportunity to spend eternity in a literal house of their dreams in Heaven, but choose to be reincarnated in order to get a second chance at a successful ChildhoodFriendRomance.]]
* RefusingParadise: [[spoiler: After escaping Hell, Chris and Annie have an opportunity to spend eternity in a literal house of their dreams in Heaven, but choose to be reincarnated in order to get a second chance at a successful ChildhoodFriendRomance.]]
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* SceneryPorn: Heaven is literally an impressionist painting for Chris.
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* SceneryPorn: Heaven Justified. The title alone suggests how much of the movie is literally an impressionist painting for Chris.spent just showing off CGI vistas of the afterlife. From a mountain range made out of paint, to angels flying around classical cities perched on cliffs flowing with waterfalls, to a bleak hell filled with giant shipwrecks and littered with crawling bodies.
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* TastesLikeFriendship: Christy and Annie are sharing sandwiches the day they meet in the beginning [[{{Bookends}} and also]] when they're [[spoiler:reincarnated at the end]].
* TimeSkip: After the kids' funeral we jump 4 years ahead.
* TimeSkip: After the kids' funeral we jump 4 years ahead.
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* TraumaticHaircut: Annie's short hair in the asylum after her kids died. The look of it implies she cut her hair short by herself.
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Chris and Annie's idyllic marriage is shattered when their two children are killed in a car wreck. Annie becomes emotionally unstable and must be institutionalized, but four years later the two reconcile. On the anniversary of the tragedy, however, Chris is killed in yet another car accident, and finds himself in heaven. Despite his new home in paradise, Chris is unhappy without Annie, and when she commits suicide out of guilt over Chris' death, he travels through hell to find her, determined to bring her back to Paradise.
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Chris and Annie's idyllic marriage is shattered when their two children are killed in a car wreck. Annie becomes emotionally unstable and must be institutionalized, but four years later the two reconcile. On the anniversary of the tragedy, however, Chris is killed in yet another car accident, and finds himself in heaven. Despite his new home in paradise, Chris is unhappy without Annie, and when she commits suicide out of guilt over Chris' Chris's death, he travels through hell to find her, determined to bring her back to Paradise.
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* ArtInitiatesLife: Chris' view of heaven is heavily inspired by his wife's paintings.
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* ArtInitiatesLife: Chris' Chris's view of heaven is heavily inspired by his wife's paintings.
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* TheCameo: Werner Herzog appears as Chris' dad (?) in a sea of faces.
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* TheCameo: Werner Herzog appears as Chris' dad (?) a man in a sea of faces.faces who mistakes Chris for his son.
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* FisherKing: In the novel, everyone in the afterlife is the ruler of their own personal paradise. Noted in the film, as Chris' paradise is an oil painting because that's what he ''wants'' it to be, though Albert is able to have "dual controls" with Chris at one point. Chris gains control by having a proper cup of coffee instead of a wobbly cup full of paint. The movie also contains a few realms where people have joined together to build cities.
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* FisherKing: In the novel, everyone in the afterlife is the ruler of their own personal paradise. Noted in the film, as Chris' Chris's paradise is an oil painting because that's what he ''wants'' it to be, though Albert is able to have "dual controls" with Chris at one point. Chris gains control by having a proper cup of coffee instead of a wobbly cup full of paint. The movie also contains a few realms where people have joined together to build cities.
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* ToHellAndBack: Chris' journey, making up the core of the movie.
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* ToHellAndBack: Chris' Chris's journey, making up the core of the movie.
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* YouLookFamiliar: In-universe-[[spoiler: Chris' son assumes the form of Chris' mentor. Later they meet up with Chris' mentor, who has assumed the form of Creator/MaxVonSydow.]]
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* YouLookFamiliar: In-universe-[[spoiler: Chris' In-universe -[[spoiler: Chris's son assumes the form of Chris' Chris's mentor. Later Later, they meet up with Chris' Chris's mentor, who has assumed the form of Creator/MaxVonSydow.]]
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* DrivenToSuicide: Annie, twice. Well, aside from the fact she already have a suicide attempt, losing her kids ''and'' her husband in successive order would break a lot of people.
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* DrivenToSuicide: Annie, twice. Well, aside from the fact she already have had a suicide attempt, losing her kids ''and'' her husband in successive order would break a lot of people.
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* BookEnds: [[spoiler:At the beginning and end, Annie and Chris meet at a lake when their boats crash into each other. At the beginning as adults with actual boats, and at the end as children with remote-controlled toy boats.]]
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* BookEnds: [[spoiler:At the beginning and end, Annie and Chris meet at a lake when their boats crash into each other. At the beginning as adults with actual boats, and at the end as children with remote-controlled toy boats.]] Chris even says the same line from the beginning of the movie.]]
--> '''Chris Nielsen''': [[spoiler: "When I was young, I met this beautiful girl at a lake."]]
--> '''Chris Nielsen''': [[spoiler: "When I was young, I met this beautiful girl at a lake."]]
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** [[spoiler: In the original ending, Chris and Annie are reincarnated as a white man and an Indian woman and get married, but Annie dies young - as dictated by the laws of karma because of her suicide in her previous life. Chris spends decades, the rest of his life, mourning her.]]
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** [[spoiler: In the original ending, Chris and Annie are reincarnated as a white man and an Indian woman and get married, but Annie dies young - as dictated by the laws of karma because of her suicide in her previous life. Chris spends decades, the rest of his life, mourning her. Chris sees their future selves enjoying Heaven off in the distance, and they decide it's WorthIt.]]
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* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Annie. Well, aside from the fact she was already a little crazy, losing her kids ''and'' her husband in successive order would break a lot of people.]]
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* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Annie. Annie, twice. Well, aside from the fact she was already have a little crazy, suicide attempt, losing her kids ''and'' her husband in successive order would break a lot of people.]]
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* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Annie. Well, aside from the fact she was already a little crazy, losing her kids ''and'' her husband in successive order would break a lot of people.]]
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* ArcWords: "Sometimes when you win, you lose."
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* ShoutOuttoShakespeare: "What dreams may come" from ''{{Hamlet}}'' 's "To Be or Not To Be Speech". Naturally, in the play, it refers to the afterlife.
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* ShoutOuttoShakespeare: ShoutOutToShakespeare: "What dreams may come" from ''{{Hamlet}}'' 's "To Be or Not To Be Speech". Naturally, in the play, it refers to the afterlife.
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* [[{{WhatCouldHaveBeen/Film}} What Could Have Been]]: Annette Bening was originally cast to play Annie. She opted out and Annabella Sciorra replaced her.
** Music/EnnioMorricone originally did the score. Though completed, it was rejected and MichaelKamen replaced him.
** Music/EnnioMorricone originally did the score. Though completed, it was rejected and MichaelKamen replaced him.
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* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: The catalyst for [[spoiler: Anne's]] suicide.
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* ActorAllusion: Max von Syder is a nod to the IngmarBergman film ''TheSeventhSeal'', which the film pays {{Homage}} to.
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* ActorAllusion: Max von Syder is a nod to the IngmarBergman film ''TheSeventhSeal'', which the film pays {{Homage}} to.
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* ShoutOuttoShakespeare: "What dreams may come" from ''{{Hamlet}}'s "To Be or Not To Be Speech". Naturally, in the play, it refers to the afterlife.
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* ShoutOuttoShakespeare: "What dreams may come" from ''{{Hamlet}}'s ''{{Hamlet}}'' 's "To Be or Not To Be Speech". Naturally, in the play, it refers to the afterlife.
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* ShoutOuttoShakespeare: "What dreams may come" from ''{{Hamlet}}'s "To Be or Not To Be Speech". Naturally, in the play, it refers to the afterlife.
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* HarsherInHindsight: The film's themes of suicide, death and the pain that drives people may make the film a heartwrenching experience following Robin William's death in 2014, especially considering where the film depiects suicides as going to. This may also make the film even more of a TearJerker.
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Added reference to Robin\'s suicide and how that combined with the film\'s themes makes it Harsher in Hindsight.
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* HarsherInHindsight: The film's themes of suicide, death and the pain that drives people may make the film a heartwrenching experience following Robin William's death in 2014, especially considering where the film depiects suicides as going to. This may also make the film even more of a TearJerker.
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Please don\'t spoiler tag the trope\'s name
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* [[spoiler: BookEnds: At the beginning and end, Annie and Chris meet at a lake when their boats crash into each other. At the beginning as adults with actual boats, and at the end as children with remote-controlled toy boats.]]
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* [[spoiler: ReincarnationRomance: In the end, Chris and Annie are reincarnated and meet as little kids in a scene that the makers of those Precious Moments figurines would kill for.]]
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* ComepleteTheQuoteTitle: The title comes from Theater/{{Hamlet}}'s famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy. [[spoiler: The full line reads: "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come"]]
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* ComepleteTheQuoteTitle: CompleteTheQuoteTitle: The title comes from Theater/{{Hamlet}}'s famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy. [[spoiler: The full line reads: "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come"]]
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* ComepleteTheQuoteTitle: The title comes from Theater/{{Hamlet}}'s famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy. The full line reads: "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come"
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* ComepleteTheQuoteTitle: The title comes from Theater/{{Hamlet}}'s famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy. [[spoiler: The full line reads: "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come"come"]]
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* ComepleteTheQuoteTitle: The title comes from Theater/{{Hamlet}}'s famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy. The full line reads: "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come"
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''What Dreams May Come'' (1998) is a dreamlike, slightly trippy journey through the afterlife, as experienced by Chris Nielsen (Creator/RobinWilliams), and his soul mate Annie Collins (Annabella Sciorra). It is based on the 1978 novel of the same title by Creator/RichardMatheson and directed by Vincent Ward.
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* ActorAllusion: Creator/MaxVonSydow [[Film/TheSeventhSeal is at home with this material.]]
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* CreatorBacklash:
--> '''Creator/RichardMatheson''': I will not comment on ''What Dreams May Come'' except to say that a major producer in Hollywood said to me, "They should have shot your book." Amen.
* TheDanza: An odd variation. Annabella's character is only ever named Annie by the other characters, except that Chris's nickname for her is Bella (which means "beautiful" so it works as a pet name between lovers, but seems too coincidental to be an accident).
--> '''Creator/RichardMatheson''': I will not comment on ''What Dreams May Come'' except to say that a major producer in Hollywood said to me, "They should have shot your book." Amen.
* TheDanza: An odd variation. Annabella's character is only ever named Annie by the other characters, except that Chris's nickname for her is Bella (which means "beautiful" so it works as a pet name between lovers, but seems too coincidental to be an accident).
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* ActorAllusion: Max von Sydow [[TheSeventhSeal is at home with this material.]]
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* ActorAllusion: Max von Sydow [[TheSeventhSeal Creator/MaxVonSydow [[Film/TheSeventhSeal is at home with this material.]]
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* YouLookFamiliar: In-universe-[[spoiler: Chris' son assumes the form of Chris' mentor. Later they meet up with Chris' mentor, who has assumed the form of Max Von Sydow.]]
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* YouLookFamiliar: In-universe-[[spoiler: Chris' son assumes the form of Chris' mentor. Later they meet up with Chris' mentor, who has assumed the form of Max Von Sydow.Creator/MaxVonSydow.]]
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** EnnioMorricone originally did the score. Though completed, it was rejected and MichaelKamen replaced him.
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** EnnioMorricone Music/EnnioMorricone originally did the score. Though completed, it was rejected and MichaelKamen replaced him.
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* CreatorBacklash:
--> '''Creator/RichardMatheson''': I will not comment on ''What Dreams May Come'' except to say that a major producer in Hollywood said to me, "They should have shot your book." Amen.
--> '''Creator/RichardMatheson''': I will not comment on ''What Dreams May Come'' except to say that a major producer in Hollywood said to me, "They should have shot your book." Amen.
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* HellIsWar: Parts of it, anyway.
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* HellIsWar: Parts of it, anyway. Given the nature of the afterlife in this film, it likely doubles as a WarriorHeaven.
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*HaveYouSeenMyGod: The following exchange between Chris and Albert:
--> '''Chris Nielsen''': "Where is God in all of this?"
--> '''Albert''': "Oh, He's up there. Somewhere... shouting down that He loves us. Wondering why we can't hear Him. You think?"
--> '''Chris Nielsen''': "Where is God in all of this?"
--> '''Albert''': "Oh, He's up there. Somewhere... shouting down that He loves us. Wondering why we can't hear Him. You think?"
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* TheCameo: Werner Herzog appears Chris' dad (?) in a sea of faces.
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* TheCameo: Werner Herzog appears as Chris' dad (?) in a sea of faces.
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* TheDanza: an odd variation. Annabella's character is only ever named Annie by the other characters, except that Chris's nickname for her is Bella (which means "beautiful" so it works as a pet name between lovers, but seems too coincidental to be an accident).
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* TheDanza: an An odd variation. Annabella's character is only ever named Annie by the other characters, except that Chris's nickname for her is Bella (which means "beautiful" so it works as a pet name between lovers, but seems too coincidental to be an accident).
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[[quoteright:190:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/whatdreamsmaycomemovieposter_5561.JPG]]
''What Dreams May Come'' (1998) is a dreamlike, slightly trippy journey through the afterlife, as experienced by Chris Nielsen (Creator/RobinWilliams), and his soul mate Annie Collins (Annabella Sciorra). It is based on the 1978 novel of the same title by Creator/RichardMatheson and directed by Vincent Ward.
Chris and Annie's idyllic marriage is shattered when their two children are killed in a car wreck. Annie becomes emotionally unstable and must be institutionalized, but four years later the two reconcile. On the anniversary of the tragedy, however, Chris is killed in yet another car accident, and finds himself in heaven. Despite his new home in paradise, Chris is unhappy without Annie, and when she commits suicide out of guilt over Chris' death, he travels through hell to find her, determined to bring her back to Paradise.
The film was shot largely on Fuji Velvia film and is one of the few films to be done so. The Fuji Velvia film is known among landscape photographers for its vivid color reproduction and it shows. The film was not particularly successful at the box office. It earned $55,382,927 at the United States market, only the 40th most successful film of its year. It was released to mixed reviews, on one hand praised for the visuals of the overall film and strong performances from the two leading actors. On the other hand, it was criticized for significant deviations from its source novel, a sense of "morose sentimentality" and lack of genuine drama and/or conflict. It won an Academy Award for its Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction (lost to ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'').
----
!!This film provides examples of:
* AcidTripDimension: The visions of heaven and hell are based on paintings from across the centuries; even the flowers are made of paint.
* ActorAllusion: Max von Sydow [[TheSeventhSeal is at home with this material.]]
* ArtInitiatesLife: Chris' view of heaven is heavily inspired by his wife's paintings.
** [[spoiler: His daughter's realm is inspired by her paper diorama.]]
* BlackBugRoom: Annie's hell.
* [[spoiler: BookEnds: At the beginning and end, Annie and Chris meet at a lake when their boats crash into each other. At the beginning as adults with actual boats, and at the end as children with remote-controlled toy boats.]]
* TheCameo: Werner Herzog appears Chris' dad (?) in a sea of faces.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: [[spoiler: Annie and Chris decide to be reincarnated. They are and meet again as small children. It's pretty much a given that the soul mates will be each others' VictoriousChildhoodFriend.]]
* TheDanza: an odd variation. Annabella's character is only ever named Annie by the other characters, except that Chris's nickname for her is Bella (which means "beautiful" so it works as a pet name between lovers, but seems too coincidental to be an accident).
* DeadToBeginWith: Chris travels through hell to rescue his wife's soul.
* DeathByAdaptation: Chris and Annie's children don't die in the book.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: You earn said happy ending by literally going to hell and back.
* EpiphanicPrison: This is the setup for Hell.
* EurekaMoment: How Chris figures out [[spoiler: who his kids really are. In his daughter's case, he recognizes the area as her paper diorama. In his son's, he recognizes that Albert is a little ''too'' attached to rescuing "mom".]]
* TheFilmOfTheBook
* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Averted and outright [[DefiedTrope stated to not be what Hell is]]. Hell is what you make of it.
* FisherKing: In the novel, everyone in the afterlife is the ruler of their own personal paradise. Noted in the film, as Chris' paradise is an oil painting because that's what he ''wants'' it to be, though Albert is able to have "dual controls" with Chris at one point. Chris gains control by having a proper cup of coffee instead of a wobbly cup full of paint. The movie also contains a few realms where people have joined together to build cities.
* FramingDevice: The novel is presented as a manuscript dictated to a psychic by Chris and delivered to Chris's (still living) brother by said psychic.
* {{Heaven}}: Made of paint!
* {{Hell}}: Of the self-inflicted variety.
* ToHellAndBack: Chris' journey, making up the core of the movie.
* HellIsWar: Parts of it, anyway.
* HellOfAHeaven: The driving force of the plot is how, to Chris, heaven isn't heaven without his wife.
* IronicEcho: "Sometimes when you win, you lose." Which eventually morphs to "Sometimes when you lose, you win."
* IronicHell
* JustifiedExtraLives: [[spoiler:Reincarnation FTW.]]
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: From the "To be or not to be" soliloquy from ''{{Hamlet}}''.
* NearDeathClairvoyance
* NostalgiaHeaven
* OrpheanRescue: Chris's quest to retrieve Annie from hell.
* RaceFetish: Discussed. Chris offhandedly remarks that he thinks Asian girls are lovely, graceful, and intelligent. [[spoiler: These words had inspired his daughter in life, and in the afterlife she literally takes the form of an Asian woman symbolizing living up to her father's ideals.]]
* RefusingParadise - [[spoiler: After escaping Hell, Chris and Annie have an opportunity to spend eternity in a literal house of their dreams in Heaven, but choose to be reincarnated in order to get a second chance at a successful ChildhoodFriendRomance.]]
** Likewise, the central premise of the movie: Chris has the option of living in Heaven for all eternity, but ventures into Hell instead -- against the advice of everyone around him -- on the off chance he'll be able to rescue his soul mate. [[spoiler: And ''chooses'' Hell just to be with her.]]
* [[spoiler: ReincarnationRomance: In the end, Chris and Annie are reincarnated and meet as little kids in a scene that the makers of those Precious Moments figurines would kill for.]]
** [[spoiler: In the original ending, Chris and Annie are reincarnated as a white man and an Indian woman and get married, but Annie dies young - as dictated by the laws of karma because of her suicide in her previous life. Chris spends decades, the rest of his life, mourning her.]]
* [[RescuedFromPurgatory Rescued From Hell]]: Chris attempts to do this for his wife. [[spoiler: He succeeds against all odds, though in a weird inversion - his wife rescues ''him'' from Hell.]]
* SceneryPorn: Heaven is literally an impressionist painting for Chris.
* SelfInflictedHell
* SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty: Shiny. Very very shiny. Heaven is made of shiny.
* TooHappyToLive
* [[{{WhatCouldHaveBeen/Film}} What Could Have Been]]: Annette Bening was originally cast to play Annie. She opted out and Annabella Sciorra replaced her.
** EnnioMorricone originally did the score. Though completed, it was rejected and MichaelKamen replaced him.
* YouAreWorthHell: Chris outright says that if he cannot rescue Annie from Hell, he's staying. [[spoiler: This self-sacrifice is what saves her.]]
* YouLookFamiliar: In-universe-[[spoiler: Chris' son assumes the form of Chris' mentor. Later they meet up with Chris' mentor, who has assumed the form of Max Von Sydow.]]
* YouWereTryingTooHard
* YourMindMakesItReal: Said almost word-for-word (re: Hell) in the original novel. In the film, both Heaven and Hell work this way in [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism opposite directions]].
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''What Dreams May Come'' (1998) is a dreamlike, slightly trippy journey through the afterlife, as experienced by Chris Nielsen (Creator/RobinWilliams), and his soul mate Annie Collins (Annabella Sciorra). It is based on the 1978 novel of the same title by Creator/RichardMatheson and directed by Vincent Ward.
Chris and Annie's idyllic marriage is shattered when their two children are killed in a car wreck. Annie becomes emotionally unstable and must be institutionalized, but four years later the two reconcile. On the anniversary of the tragedy, however, Chris is killed in yet another car accident, and finds himself in heaven. Despite his new home in paradise, Chris is unhappy without Annie, and when she commits suicide out of guilt over Chris' death, he travels through hell to find her, determined to bring her back to Paradise.
The film was shot largely on Fuji Velvia film and is one of the few films to be done so. The Fuji Velvia film is known among landscape photographers for its vivid color reproduction and it shows. The film was not particularly successful at the box office. It earned $55,382,927 at the United States market, only the 40th most successful film of its year. It was released to mixed reviews, on one hand praised for the visuals of the overall film and strong performances from the two leading actors. On the other hand, it was criticized for significant deviations from its source novel, a sense of "morose sentimentality" and lack of genuine drama and/or conflict. It won an Academy Award for its Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction (lost to ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'').
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!!This film provides examples of:
* AcidTripDimension: The visions of heaven and hell are based on paintings from across the centuries; even the flowers are made of paint.
* ActorAllusion: Max von Sydow [[TheSeventhSeal is at home with this material.]]
* ArtInitiatesLife: Chris' view of heaven is heavily inspired by his wife's paintings.
** [[spoiler: His daughter's realm is inspired by her paper diorama.]]
* BlackBugRoom: Annie's hell.
* [[spoiler: BookEnds: At the beginning and end, Annie and Chris meet at a lake when their boats crash into each other. At the beginning as adults with actual boats, and at the end as children with remote-controlled toy boats.]]
* TheCameo: Werner Herzog appears Chris' dad (?) in a sea of faces.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: [[spoiler: Annie and Chris decide to be reincarnated. They are and meet again as small children. It's pretty much a given that the soul mates will be each others' VictoriousChildhoodFriend.]]
* TheDanza: an odd variation. Annabella's character is only ever named Annie by the other characters, except that Chris's nickname for her is Bella (which means "beautiful" so it works as a pet name between lovers, but seems too coincidental to be an accident).
* DeadToBeginWith: Chris travels through hell to rescue his wife's soul.
* DeathByAdaptation: Chris and Annie's children don't die in the book.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: You earn said happy ending by literally going to hell and back.
* EpiphanicPrison: This is the setup for Hell.
* EurekaMoment: How Chris figures out [[spoiler: who his kids really are. In his daughter's case, he recognizes the area as her paper diorama. In his son's, he recognizes that Albert is a little ''too'' attached to rescuing "mom".]]
* TheFilmOfTheBook
* FireAndBrimstoneHell: Averted and outright [[DefiedTrope stated to not be what Hell is]]. Hell is what you make of it.
* FisherKing: In the novel, everyone in the afterlife is the ruler of their own personal paradise. Noted in the film, as Chris' paradise is an oil painting because that's what he ''wants'' it to be, though Albert is able to have "dual controls" with Chris at one point. Chris gains control by having a proper cup of coffee instead of a wobbly cup full of paint. The movie also contains a few realms where people have joined together to build cities.
* FramingDevice: The novel is presented as a manuscript dictated to a psychic by Chris and delivered to Chris's (still living) brother by said psychic.
* {{Heaven}}: Made of paint!
* {{Hell}}: Of the self-inflicted variety.
* ToHellAndBack: Chris' journey, making up the core of the movie.
* HellIsWar: Parts of it, anyway.
* HellOfAHeaven: The driving force of the plot is how, to Chris, heaven isn't heaven without his wife.
* IronicEcho: "Sometimes when you win, you lose." Which eventually morphs to "Sometimes when you lose, you win."
* IronicHell
* JustifiedExtraLives: [[spoiler:Reincarnation FTW.]]
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: From the "To be or not to be" soliloquy from ''{{Hamlet}}''.
* NearDeathClairvoyance
* NostalgiaHeaven
* OrpheanRescue: Chris's quest to retrieve Annie from hell.
* RaceFetish: Discussed. Chris offhandedly remarks that he thinks Asian girls are lovely, graceful, and intelligent. [[spoiler: These words had inspired his daughter in life, and in the afterlife she literally takes the form of an Asian woman symbolizing living up to her father's ideals.]]
* RefusingParadise - [[spoiler: After escaping Hell, Chris and Annie have an opportunity to spend eternity in a literal house of their dreams in Heaven, but choose to be reincarnated in order to get a second chance at a successful ChildhoodFriendRomance.]]
** Likewise, the central premise of the movie: Chris has the option of living in Heaven for all eternity, but ventures into Hell instead -- against the advice of everyone around him -- on the off chance he'll be able to rescue his soul mate. [[spoiler: And ''chooses'' Hell just to be with her.]]
* [[spoiler: ReincarnationRomance: In the end, Chris and Annie are reincarnated and meet as little kids in a scene that the makers of those Precious Moments figurines would kill for.]]
** [[spoiler: In the original ending, Chris and Annie are reincarnated as a white man and an Indian woman and get married, but Annie dies young - as dictated by the laws of karma because of her suicide in her previous life. Chris spends decades, the rest of his life, mourning her.]]
* [[RescuedFromPurgatory Rescued From Hell]]: Chris attempts to do this for his wife. [[spoiler: He succeeds against all odds, though in a weird inversion - his wife rescues ''him'' from Hell.]]
* SceneryPorn: Heaven is literally an impressionist painting for Chris.
* SelfInflictedHell
* SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty: Shiny. Very very shiny. Heaven is made of shiny.
* TooHappyToLive
* [[{{WhatCouldHaveBeen/Film}} What Could Have Been]]: Annette Bening was originally cast to play Annie. She opted out and Annabella Sciorra replaced her.
** EnnioMorricone originally did the score. Though completed, it was rejected and MichaelKamen replaced him.
* YouAreWorthHell: Chris outright says that if he cannot rescue Annie from Hell, he's staying. [[spoiler: This self-sacrifice is what saves her.]]
* YouLookFamiliar: In-universe-[[spoiler: Chris' son assumes the form of Chris' mentor. Later they meet up with Chris' mentor, who has assumed the form of Max Von Sydow.]]
* YouWereTryingTooHard
* YourMindMakesItReal: Said almost word-for-word (re: Hell) in the original novel. In the film, both Heaven and Hell work this way in [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism opposite directions]].
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