Schlaf

The film I loved watching it but it was not exactly clear what it was that was really happening. The mother is really not in a very good place she has been in the psychiatric ward of a hospital and her daughter worried and trying to find out what is going on. She moves into what seems to be a hotel and everything gets worse. The hotel apparently has something wrong and reminds us of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. The boar hunting, the odd deaths and the mass suicide and the gassing and a large group of former nazis that worries us their sleep and the uncanny something we do not understand. I think I will have to have another look at this, after a while.

Originally, I had this movie planned to see during the Berlinale 2020, part of the section Perspektive Deutsches Kino (Perspectives of German Films/Filmmaking). For some reason I missed it there. Got a second chance during the Imagine film festival 2021, normally in Amsterdam but now 100% online. The movie starts very well, despite the inherent somber subject. It proves to be very well possible to maintain tension for the full running time without using any of the genre cliches, like jump scares, squeaking doors/stairs, eerie music, and more along those down throdden paths.

Near 1H running time, I lost track of the logic in what I saw people doing, and what purpose I could imagine behind their actions (if any). Assuming to be enlightened about past events that would take care of connecting the dots, I was anticipating clarity in the end. I persisted watching this movie and ignored some logic flaws.

At 1H25 running time I was clawing for some straws to clear up the mist between past and present, as the mixture of both seem prepared to explain everything. It was not self-explanatory for me, however. I persisted again, waiting for the finale that might offer the solution to all these riddles. Despite my failure to understand the deeper purpose of the proceedings, it was not boring. Something happened all the time, continuously bringing some new clues, but none were conclusive.

The final 10 minutes did not bring the explanations I expected. Something important hit me here, namely, how to find out whether you are dreaming or awake. This dilemma was presented in a very early scene but not making sufficient impression then to realize its importance. Many scenes run along parallel lines and switch between past and present, leaving me guessing for their significance in the story. In this respect, the movie did not fullfill all promises, at least not for all issues calling for a solution.

All in all, the plot is ambitious and intriguing, but it faltered near the end and failed on its closure. I think I missed some important clues underway. I think this would not have happened during a more focused session in a film theater, with less distractions than a virtual screening at home. Neverheless, it certainly is a good watch due to including social commentary and references to German history, though some are bound to partly missing the point when directed to us outsiders, not living in Germany.

Right away, some people are going to be turned off because this film forces you to pay attention and think.

This is not a mindless romp through nightmares or haunted hotels.

There are very intricate plot points and a few twists that you need to pay attention to, otherwise once things ramp up in the third act, you'll be lost.

There is a surrealism to this viewing experience but I would not go as far as to put this into a category with David Lynch as some other reviewers have. This film doesn't have the intelligence or transgressive undertones of Lynch's work.

That doesn't mean it isn't intelligent or that the film is subpar in any way. In fact, this film is very well made both from a storytelling standpoint as well as a technical standpoint.

The use of camera angles, color, lighting, etc all serve to draw you into the scene with comfort that shifts into unease effortlessly.

The characters are somewhat likable but seem rather emotionally disconnected throughout the film and I found myself wondering if that was intentional in an effort to throw the audience off and not allow them to get too comfortable in any one situation with any one character.

The payoff at the end was on point and brings about a satisfying conclusion.

My one complaint would have to be the after credits scene.

It feels tacked on and pointless and it is shot in a way that looks like it's from an entirely different film. It just doesn't belong here and it should have been left out.

Highly recommend.

Marlene (Sandra Huller) is a flight attendant who suffers from severe nightmares, from which she awakens to draw sketches of her dreams. Her adult daugher Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof) takes care of her, but believes her when she says she's scheduled for a flight to Turkey. Instead, Marlene follows her dream-sketches to a hotel in the remote heartland of Germany, a town called Stainbach, and is soon hospitalized after a psychotic break at the hotel. Mona finds her, decides to stay at the same hotel run by Otto (August Schmolzer) and his wife Lore (Marion Kracht), but soon finds that the past is very much with the present in this hotel: including the suicides of the three founders, Otto's mentors, and the fact that Otto needs to be tethered to his bed to prevent him getting out at night....

That's a very sketchy outline of this very effective movie, which is really a deep dive into how the past affects the present, how bygone evil deeds and beliefs can retain their allure for some people, and how, sometimes, it's hard to know what reality is. Sleep: we all do it (even sharks who are not thought to sleep but I think it's just that we don't yet understand their version of sleep), and we all dream too. And that is when, this film suggests, we are most vulnerable - but also most insightful. I expected to be scared by this movie, because of its framing, but I never really got that jolt of adrenalin from fear because it's far more subtle than that. And, no, I don't like scary movies, so I was relieved at that. Instead, I end up finding myself thinking a lot about uncomfortable subjects such as the resurgence of fascism that has never really left us, and how easily it can come back. Recommended.

This German film about nightmares hardly kept me awake despite the fact that it is pretty well made, with a great care about aesthetics. But the plot rapidly eliminated the interest which I had at the beginning, I don't know why, maybe a feeling of déjà vu, though not for a German film. That's precisely the point, because we must seek the originality in this culturesque angle. I think that it also could be a Spanish film, with such a topic. Only children miss.... I won't spoil the film, but I think we can analyse the genesis of this story in history. German history, eighty years ago. I guess you see what I mean.... But that's only my opinion. To summarize, it's worth watching for those for whom this kind of film is made for. Unfortunately not me, but I tried....