Aspiring musician Antonin (Hubert Benhamdine) is a young man on a quest for love in northern Paris and its adjoining suburbs. A university drop-out, he lives with his mother in poverty. He plays guitar in a band, and has an unrequited crush on the sexy band leader and his best friend Alex (Franck Victor). When Alex dies of a heroin overdose in his arms one night, Antonin is stricken over his loss, and recklessly descends into the seedy, nocturnal world of Paris at night. Urban and nocturnal by nature, he embraces the vibrant energy of the city which leads to some rough, carnal, and violent experiences. He enjoys public gay sex and prostitution as a rent boy.
Seeking consolation for his heartache but indulging only in self-destruction, his life might yet be saved by a beautiful stranger named Juliette (Caroline Ducey), a vivacious beauty with a secret. She needs help even more than he does, and Antonin has a second chance to save the life of someone he loves. He finds tenderness, support and loyalty when he least expects it, showing him humanity and the ability to give a helping hand to another. The film has a "happy ending" which somehow inspires depression.
In this poignant romantic drama, replete with brute emotion and raw lust, a young man travels through the dark heart of Parisian nightlife and the extremes of self-destruction. It tells the story of a bisexual man starving for love who becomes a male prostitute. The film is challenging but the viewer is rewarded with excellent performances, stunning imagery and cinematography, and sexy scenes which are are passionless, explicit, and unsimulated. Dark lighting, underground clubs and grimy alleyways all serve to complement the film's bleak ambiance, which offers little hope for redemption. The most memorable performance is given by Hubert Benhamdine who shows the mental torment suffered by Antonin after Alex's death. After the first half of the movie, it becomes quite slow-moving following the entrance of Juliette. Moreover, "J'ai rêvé sous l'eau" offers little thematically that is new or original, and Benhamdine looks a little too old for the role. Muriel Moreno composed the music score, and Hormoz scripted and directed. In French with English subtitles. The English title is "I Dreamt Under (the) Water".
