Who has never had a head full of dreams and their gaze set skyward? Just like Sam, many of us wish to reach our idea of true happiness and achieve our most audacious goals! The story of this mouse reminds us how important it is in life to persevere.
This film tells the story of an adorable little rodent who has one objective in life: to fly in the sky with the swallows. One bright spring morning he sets out to make this illusion a reality. Over the course of a year this blue-eared creature will brave all four seasons as he pursues his wild dream of hurtling through the air, all while the other forest animals look on in bemusement. When watching this beautiful animated short film for the first time, we are struck by the similarities with Marlies Van der Wel’s poetic film Jonas and the Sea. Whereas Jonas yearned to live in the ocean, like a fish in water, Sam wants to travel through the sky like a real bird. These two likeminded stories help to nurture the imaginations of young viewers. This work by Nölwenn Roberts shapes up as a wonderful coming-of-age tale dealing with dreams and solidarity. For, as time ticks on, Sam realises that his great scheme is impossible to pull off alone. But with the invaluable help of other animals in the wild (including a beetle, an owl and a squirrel), he gets much stronger. This is a nice way to reach children and develop a sense of teamwork at a very young age.
Sam's Dream is an animated film with a poetic universe. Its artwork featuring pastel colours is so exquisite it resembles an animated watercolour painting. And there is no need for dialogue in this short film thanks to the sublime music of the composer Erwann Chandon, which stirs all the necessary emotions in viewers. This is an ode to friendship, a story about fraternity, a fable about helping each other and a hymn to our dreams. As Victor Hugo used to say, “the dreamer must be stronger than the dream”, and Sam demonstrates that beautifully.
