Imperial Dreams

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1:58

Imperial Dreams

2016

1h 27m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

A reformed gangster's devotion to his family is tested when he is released from prison and returns to his old neighborhood.

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Shadow and Act Staff

Shadow and Act

09/13/2022

With rich storytelling, fine acting, and captivating cinematography and score by Flying Lotus, the movie is a cinematic achievement.

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Inkoo Kang

MTV

02/06/2017

Like the similarly quiet and thrumming Moonlight, Imperial is most affecting as an internal portrait of a young black man's struggle to embrace softness when the world tells him he has to be hard to survive.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

04/18/2016

Malik Vitthal's first feature gives rich dramatic life to a piercingly analytical view of the American way of incarceration.

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Bernard Boo

Way Too Indie

03/22/2019

8/10

More than any other gang movie in recent memory, Imperial Dreams sidesteps cliches and carves out a place of its own next to the best films in the genre.

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Noah Welsh

Film Inquiry

02/23/2017

Imperial Dreams does not have the buzzing beats or flashing lights of most L.A. stories. Because of this, its characters feel real and its payoffs are gripping.

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Renee Schonfeld

Common Sense Media

02/14/2017

4/5

Dark yet inspiring tale has cursing, violence, drugs.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 May 30

Success in just 1 hour and 27 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Erica G

@RT66729974 Apr 27

Very realistic and heartfelt. I pushed this movie off for so long until I finally decided to watch. It’s tough to see a story like this, but it hits home in some ways and it was very well acted and told!

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Dave C

@RT09838700 01/20/2021

It's slow. We get it. It's not backed by mega-money, nor is it all loud action and screaming drama. We get that too... That's what makes it more real. It's layered with a number of issues facing people leaving prison. Boyega is cast so well for the lead role, and delivers a believable character, struggling to do the right thing when everything around him is pulling him to do wrong

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12/11/2020

Imperial Dreams is deep and poignant and very often hard to watch. John Boyega was awesome. The story makes you think hard about your life and how sometimes you're fortunate to simply have what you have. It brought me to tears

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05/09/2019

Wow this movie was powerful. It showed the struggle of a returning citizen trying to get away from the trappings of his old life, so he could make a better life for his son. He wants out so much but the prison of poverty, discrimination, and his past continue to place roadblocks in front of him.

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01/25/2019

Una leccion de vida, es el drama en el que nos sumerge el director Malik Booth, Una trama contundente es un retrato de supervivencia en el ghetto ,que el actor Jonh Boyega Logra concretar de manera acertada.

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Imperial Dreams: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A reformed gangster's devotion to his family is tested when he is released from prison and returns to his old neighborhood.

Director: Malik Vitthal
Producer: Jonathan Schwartz, Andrea Sperling, Katherine Fairfax Wright
Screenwriter: Malik Vitthal, Ismet Prcic
Production Co: Super Crispy Entertainment, Sam Spiegel International Film Lab
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2017
Runtime: 1h 27m

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