Sleep

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.

"Mona," the adult daughter of "Marlene" travels to the remote Sonnenhügel Hotel to find out why her mother trashed a hotel room before lapsing into a "stupor." Prior to traveling to the hotel, Marlene had remarked to Mona that she had experienced four dreams involving this same place. In each dream, a different man had killed himself. But in the fourth dream, there was a stronger man present, though he was becoming weaker with time. This place really exists, she tells Mona. Marlene then traveled to the hotel to confront her dream/nightmare, only to be undone by what occurred in her room there.

There are several layers to Mona's investigation: There is the obvious question (prompted by one of doctors) of what triggered Marlene's fugue state. (There may be something genetic at work, the doctor had reasoned. Mona demurred, as Mona is Marlene's only living relative.). When Mona reaches the hotel, proprietor "Otto" is willing to assist Mona in her desire to see the room at issue. His spouse, "Lore," is far less willing to aid Mona in her investigation. Mona also discovers from Otto that it is indeed the case that three men had killed themselves on the property, undone, he tells her, by the burdens of having an entire community depend upon their success and efforts. Not everyone can bear such a burden, he reasons.

Mona also asks Otto about a name "Trude" that appeared on one of her mother's many notebook-style drawings. Otto tells Mona he will look into this clue. Subsequently, Mona has lunch with Lore and Otto. Otto tells Mona that the name Trude "rang a bell" and that he remembered that it is a "lullaby." He retrieves an old tape recorder and plays for Mona the contents of the tune. The lullaby sends both Otto and Mona into fugue states that result in a clear danger to Mona and a sudden change in direction for the film. ("Trude," we learn, is not simply a lullaby and Otto is not simply a driven, but friendly, hotel proprietor.)

As the film closes in on the one-hour mark, we discover that at the heart of "Sleep" is the issue of historical memory. The hotel, like the town in which it is located, is in the process of rebuilding. And part of that rebuilding is directly addressing how the past is to be remembered. Otto has ambitions of a political nature. He is part of a far-right party that will have as its base the hotel. In a dinner speech to his fellow travelers ("the finest men of the valley," he calls them), he tells his male companions that "they" should not to be "ashamed . . . Of our origins, our traditions . . . Our history." It is time for a "new . . . Movement." He states that "naked envy drives these parasites to our borders" and that they must wear their "armor" when dealing with such miscreants.

This turn to politics may seem both sudden and strange in a movie that, at least for most of its running time, was singularly uninterested in such matters. But this is simply to bring to the surface the unexposed "point" of the film: that the ghosts (and delirium) of the past are alive and well in the house; only in "Sleep" it is the women, across generations, who have to confront and then pick up the pieces of this past: Marlene, who travels to a place (the hotel) that feels like a home she knows but never really knew; Mona, who retraces her mothers steps with the intention of helping her mother; Lore, who guards the hotel while Otto entertains the guests; Friza, the hotel aide who (rather cleverly) fights the "Nazis" (and with Lore's blessing!); and Trude, the erstwhile rescuer, who also appears to be the living descendent of those who were the victims of war crimes.

Other reviewers have likened the narrative style of "Sleep" to the work of David Lynch. Given the underlying concerns in the movie, I am not sure I agree with the analogy, though there are some surrealistic stylistic elements that lend some credence to it. I will agree, however, that "Sleep" is not a tidy movie. That said, "Sleep" also has ambitions that are far greater than the average celluloid ghost story. To that extent, "Sleep" is a far more "serious" offering than, say, the more recent "Cuckoo" (2024).

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....

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.