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the elements that make Daniel’s nerd and, by the time the shootinggot underway, Daniel was well into the role developed throughoutthe rehearsal period.’

Her film depending so much on dream sequences, Law achieves akind of other-worldly effect with the use of blue/grey filters andwhat she calls the ‘glow’ of a scene. But she was not, she says, somuch concerned about aesthetics. ‘It’s more like tone thanaesthetics. I wanted it to be more what you feel a dream to be like,kind of like a vacuum type of existence. You and your dream partnerare in the dream world and everything else doesn’t exist, but thereal world is more than that. I wanted the film to be more minimal,very much between what is so-called reality (physical, in thebackground) and the emotional reality in the foreground.’ So shetried to establish a glow throughout the film that culminates in ascene with Max and his dream girl in a dance sequence. At thatpoint, she says, the abstract glow crystallizes into something morereflective than white: ‘I wanted to create that feeling of “Can youreally grab this or is it too elusive?” It’s an in-between state, whichis intriguing because you don’t know where it’s going to take you.

‘I think for me, the film itself is a visual journey. The images arevery important. Some things you can’t say with just words, youhave to rely on actions. So I felt it was right to have the characterscome together in the dance. They can’t consummate, or make lovethrough physical contact – and so you would think they couldn’tmake love. But in essence through the dance in the dream phasethey reach some level of fulfilment, which in reality they wouldn’t beable to do.’

The score was written by Australian jazz musician Paul Grabowsky,‘When, I showed him what happened in reality, what happened inthe dream and a little bit of the dance. Immediately he said, “Oh wemust do a piece for the dance first, then deconstruct that for thefilm.”’ Grabowsky sent her his idea for the dance, which, after a littletweaking, she was happy with and, because it was quite layered,she was also able to use as a theme for the dream girl. But she

needed something different for the real girl, ‘maybe with a differentinstrument. He dug up this piece of music with an oboe in it, andplayed it for me. I found it fascinating, not because of the oboe, butbecause of music itself. I did a little editing, matched it with the filmand it worked like magic.

‘It was as if it was made for the sequence in the hotel where thereality girl tries to seduce Daniel. According to Paul, he composed itto make his son, who was really sick with leukaemia, happy. In away, he was letting go of his child; it is very sad, sacrificial, religious– everything. It expresses a parent’s love full of sacrifice and full oflove. He said he would never be able to perform it fully in the moodagain because to do so he needed to re-live the experience, whichhe hoped will never happen. His son is getting better now. ‘Thepiece fits perfectly with the film. If he’d composed it just for thisfilm, I don’t think it would have been as good. Some things are verymagical and mysterious.’

Even though the story of Like a Dream is simple, the film’s receptionat the advance screening at the HKIFF was divided. Law isphilosophical. ‘Those who love it really love it. I think in a way, ifyou allow yourself to open up and be carried by the film then itbecomes part of the whole cinematic journey. While, if you’re veryclosed or you’re only look for entertainment, it’s a totally differentexperience. I hope the audience will join in, be interactive and bringtheir own experience to it. If they can do that, something in the filmwill touch them.

‘Of course, not all films suit everyone. I think for any audience, it’slike choosing a book – you need to identify what suits you. There isliterature and there is pulp fiction. If you’re looking for somethingmore meaningful, then it’s the film for you. A lot of films show youthings that are unhappy and ugly, sad and bad in terms of humannature, they are very ugly about the world. I want to show beautyand what it is more relevant and more important to us. It’s alwaysaround us but often overlooked because we are too keen andanxious to search for other things.’