In Silver and the Book of Dreams, sisters Liv and Mia travel to London to start a new life with their mother, her new boyfriend, and his two children. Neither Liv nor Mia are particularly happy about this new arrangement, but neither have any choice and try to make the best of it.
On the first night in their new home, Liv stumbles upon a strange and unusual door in their step-father’s house. After opening it she is transported to a hallway filled with more doors, and then to a cemetery, where she meets up with her step-brother and his three friends.
Although her trip to the cemetery appears to be real, Liv learns it is all part of a dream. Just like her step-brother and his friends, Liv can leave reality and access the dream world.
Initially this seems like an exciting opportunity filled with endless possibilities. However, Liv soon discovers the dream world is filled with good dreams as well as bad dreams, and both can come true.
Directed by Helena Hufnagel, and based on the book Silber – Das erste Buch der Träume by Kerstin Gier, Silver and the Book of Dreams stars Jana McKinnon, Rhys Mannion, Chaneil Kular, and Josephine Blazier. The movie is a German-English teen fantasy, which is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, and it is an odd little film.
Silver and the Book of Dreams is odd because a) it plays like something made at least a decade ago, and b) it’s a bit all over the place. It’s neither one thing nor the other, and it’s difficult to really get invested in the story or the characters.
In fairness, the film has potential, and at times it isn’t bad, but there are too many ideas and none of it quite sticks. So, while one minute it feels interesting, the next it doesn’t, and so on.
What is good about the movie is the way it establishes its fantasy elements. There are some decent visuals, and director Helena Hufnagel does a decent job of bringing a dreamlike quality to the picture.
Fantasy films such as this aren’t currently in fashion, having largely been replaced by superhero stories, so it’s fun to see this sub-genre brought back. There is plenty of room for teen fantasy films like Silver and the Book of Dreams, so more of this kind of thing is welcome.
It’s just a shame this one doesn’t work as intended. All the ingredients are there, they just don’t come together in the right way, and the less said about some of the acting, the better.
If you miss seeing young adult stories, and teen fantasy films you may wish to try out Silver and the Book of Dreams, as this could prove appealing, but don’t expect to be wowed. What’s on offer is a mixed bag, so it’s probably only going to work for those who are already keen.
The film does gets points for effort, and aspects of it are fine, so it’s not a complete waste of time, but it’s not a must-see movie either. Approach with caution.
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