A poor script based on a true story, acting is almost alright and the very first bit with the hot dancing girl gives you a clear idea of what you're going to watch... On the other hand, it really depict some of the Colombian customs, with the help of the Virgin, cupidity and greed, may we all be blessed. What kind of army do they really have in Colombia ? An entire battalion with the same idea but not the same I.Q will lead this grotesque farce to a schmaltzy ending. Is it all they really want once they get rich after all ? I was expected a less superficial movie with some good acting but at the end I have to admit : it costs nothing to dream...

A battalion, tired, neglected, and sent to rescue foreign hostages roams the jungle and fights with FARC narco terrorists. A couple of these soldiers we meet earlier in the film as they're out on the town in a strip joint/ brothel/ bar. One of them falls in love with a certain prostitute-stripper and vows to come back for her- after all, it doesn't cost anything to dream (as the title goes). Back in the jungle they find a neglected FARC camp. By chance, one of our friends discovers a container with money hidden in the ground. There's more, lots more. Millions in dollars and pesos. Initially the group of friends try to keep the money from the battalion and the leader but as one of them activates a mine and sends money flying through the air, everyone is alerted.The battalion divides all the money instead of alerting higher ups of the find. Now they are rich, but still in the jungle eating bugs and without toilet paper. They gamble, trade their pesos for dollars among themselves at high rates, and purchase items they like from each other at ridiculous high prices. One soldier is the lone exception, he wants to inform the command of the find and refuses to take his share of the money because it is blood money that finances drugs, kidnappings, and is not their money after all.The military refuses to extricate them from the jungle so one of our group shoots himself in the leg. Now they have an injured soldier and the Colombian army comes to pick them up. Back at the base they are about to get searched by the military to ensure no one has taken some of the FARC weapons they found. As luck would have it, the search is interrupted and the battalion gets a day off.And off they go to spend like, well, drunken soldiers: fancy clothes, sneakers, jewelry, sunglasses, SUVs, and of course a night in the brothel, which they shut down just for them. Not only that but they can't keep quiet and flaunt their money everywhere. Our soldier in love meets his girl and buys her freedom for marriage- or so he thinks. As they return to base next day dressed as pimps with shopping bags in hand a nasty surprise awaits them.But the movie has a surprise for us, too. The one soldier who seemed so honest and moral that he wouldn't take any of the dirty money- his story frames the rest at the beginning and at the end.This movie is well-realized, except for the action sequence which is kinda slow for our terms. Post-production and re-recording, done in Argentina, has its problems. The movie is funny, engaging, entertaining, has a couple of twists and turns. Highly recommended for a more light-hearted look at the military aspect of the fight against FARC terrorists.

When I heard the film was to be released and the theme of what it was about, I felt very curious. But when I saw it was the biggest deception of my life. Technically speaking, the sound is poor, you can tell about man dialogs that were remade on studio that are poorly achieved in the final mix. Secondo of all, the photography is mediocre, some part of the films show some soldiers with night vision goggles, and the way the cinematographer achieves that "dark night" is by illuminated everything like if they were in an actual military base with lights, there's no reference used of the moonlight, my god! Thir but not least, most of the ac tings are really poor, it's totally not believable the roll of the wife of one of the soldier, her performance it's pretty poor.Great disappointing, shame of the jury who chose to send this movie to represent Colombia on the Oscars.

"Soñar no cuesta nada" was based on the true story of more than 140 Colombian soldiers who found an illegal fortune belonging to the FARC guerrillas in the middle of the jungle and who, instead of informing about it, decided to keep the money for themselves. As you can imagine, most of them spent it far too fast and far too naively.All of this originally happened back in 2003 and now most of the real soldiers are on the run, with a few either turning themselves in or having been captured, and a couple of them ending up dead as a door nail. The story caused a rather public controversy in Colombia, which continues even after most of the captured soldiers have been recently sentenced to 3 - 10 years in jail, depending on their specific actions / responsibilities.That is the true story, as chronicled by the press. The movie is clearly based on it, but adds a considerable amount of fiction to the tale, and even stops a bit short of what really happened (it was made before the sentencing phase, for example).While none of the characters involved mirror their real life counterparts that closely, the issues at stake are well represented, including the moral and personal sensitivities involved. In that respect, the movie succeeds, aided by a talented cast (by Colombian standards), a remarkable photography work and a very active soundtrack. A reasonably good sense of humor is in it too, though non-Colombians might not catch all the in-jokes and ironies involved (some of which are better than others though). Still, the overall theme of professional duty and honesty versus personal necessities and temptation is universal and remains accessible enough.As for the ending, I'll simply say this: the final few minutes could have used some more conflict and perhaps a bit less of the sappy stuff. An additional 5 to 10 minutes couldn't have hurt. As it is, things happen a bit too fast and, while the film remains quite interesting in its own right, the final result does tend to simplify the consequences of the soldiers' actions. A good movie, certainly, but it could have been even better. Overall, I give it 7.7/10 or so.