After life there is more. The end is just the beginning.|Oct. 02, 1998|USA|113 Min.|PG-13
Genre: Drama;Fantasy;Romance
Description: “What Dreams May Come” is a 1998 film that explores profound themes of love, loss, and the afterlife. The story follows Chris Nielsen, a pediatrician, and his wife Annie, an artist. The couple meets in Switzerland, falls in love, marries, and starts a family with their two children, Ian and Marie. However, their happiness is shattered when their children tragically die in a car accident. Four years later, Chris is also killed in a car crash.
Unaware of his own death, Chris lingers on Earth, confused by why no one interacts with him. He witnesses Annie’s overwhelming grief and tries to communicate with her, despite warnings that this will only deepen her pain. When his efforts lead to more sorrow, Chris decides to move on. He awakens in a Heaven shaped by his imagination—a picturesque, mountainous landscape resembling one of Annie’s paintings and reminiscent of a place they had dreamed of spending their later years.
In Heaven, Chris is guided by his friend and mentor, Albert Lewis, and Leona, a stewardess he once admired. Chris later realizes that Leona is actually his daughter Marie in a different form. Meanwhile, Annie, consumed by guilt over the deaths of Chris and their children, takes her own life. Initially relieved that her suffering has ended, Chris becomes furious when he learns that those who die by suicide are destined for Hell—not as a punishment, but because they create their own tormenting afterlife out of their pain.
Determined to save Annie, Chris vows to rescue her from Hell, despite Albert’s warning that no one has ever succeeded in such a mission. With the help of a “tracker,” Chris and Albert journey into Hell. Along the way, Chris discovers that Albert is actually his son Ian in disguise. Eventually, Chris parts ways with Ian to continue his quest to find and save Annie.
The film is a poignant exploration of love’s enduring power and the lengths one will go to for those they cherish.
Cast director: Vincent Ward
Cast actor: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra, Max von Sydow, Jessica Brooks Grant, Josh Paddock, Rosalind Chao, Lucinda Jenney, Maggie McCarthy, Wilma Bonet
Original name: What Dreams May Come