THE SLEEPWALKER (Argentina with subtitles)
A review by Mark R. Leeper in bullet-list form
from the Toronto Internation Film Festival
CAPSULE: In a distopic future in which a disaster has wiped out memories of 300,000 people, one of the amnesiacs has memories from another time. They may be the key to finding a fugitive revolutionary leader. Toward the end there are a lot of interesting ideas introduced. Rating: 6 (0 to 10), high +1 (-4 to +4)
- Directed by Fernando Spiner who co-authored. - Fairly prosaic totalitarian society. Plot of secret rebel person or place is fairly familiar. - Photography in monochrome with some objects in color to call attention to them as in SCHINDLER'S LIST and ZENTROPA (a.k.a. EUROPA). - Main character Eva awakes in a cathedral and is arrested by security forces. No memory but an accident with amnesia gas has left 300,000 people without memories. Nobody knows who was married or related to whom. (Did none of these people carry identification in this totalitarian state?) - New state draws the letter "K" backwards wherever it appears. How did this come about? - Government can look at tapes of main character's visions, memories, and dreams. Not well done since main character sees herself in the third person in her own dreams. - The State is looking for Gauna, a poet and resistance leader. Agent Kluge chasing main character decides to join her. Cross country chase. - Matte work not good by some countries' standards. But artwork is good. Some interesting ideas about the future. - Toward the end there are a lot of ideas.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 1998 Mark R. Leeper
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