Two teenagers meet by the road's edge. One, Freddy, is heading for Oklahoma City to find a father he has not seen since his early childhood; the other is an adolescent wishing to join a mother he never knew in Reno. Both decide to travel together, hitchhiking or sneaking into freight train wagons. Their quests will lead them to different fates.

Director Ed Radke spent his youth in Ohio, between petty thefts and a precocious fatherhood. He draws from these experiences to create a sensitive and pungent film about two youngsters battered by life. While the film's linear route yields few surprises, it is the director's sensitivity as well as the application bestowed on narration and characters that make up the main qualities of this low-budget venture. This probably explains the public and critic success of the film in many international festivals. The Dream Catcher now deserves a wider distribution.

Yannis Polinacci