"Schlafes Bruder" or "Brother of Sleep" is a German film from over 20 years ago that runs for more than 2 hours and was nominated for a Golden Globe back then. It was also Germany's Oscar submission for the Foreign Language category, but did not manage a nomination at the Academy Awards. Writer Robert Schneider adapted his own novel for the screen here and Joseph Vilsmaier directed. Now the 1990s are really not particularly known in terms of German cinema. The previous decades had Herzog, Fassbinder, Schlöndorff and Wenders at what people would consider their peaks and the 2000s had the new wild wave of German cinema with the likes of Brühl and Diehl, but in terms of the 1990s there really aren't many famous works from Germany. Vilsmaier may be the most defining director from the decade and this film here, also because of its success, may be among the most known German films from the 1990s today.
It plays a couple decades in the past and is about the love between a young man and woman (played by Vilsmaier's ill-fated wife Dana Vávrová). André Eisermann is also not really known to many anymore, probably because he hardly appears in film anymore, so the most famous cast member may be Ben Becker, son of Otto Sander, who plays a closeted homosexual in love with the protagonist here. And there is also some nice music in here, orgasmic organ playing on several occasions. It's always nice to see films that go for realism over unrealistic developments, even if that means no happy end and this is the case here as well. There were a couple moments when the film dragged, but that's nothing unexpected for a movie that crosses the 2-hour mark. Still, the story and characters along with competent acting and Vilsmaier's good job behind the camera make this one worth a watch. Certainly not a film for anybody, but I give it a thumbs-up and recommend checking it out.
It plays a couple decades in the past and is about the love between a young man and woman (played by Vilsmaier's ill-fated wife Dana Vávrová). André Eisermann is also not really known to many anymore, probably because he hardly appears in film anymore, so the most famous cast member may be Ben Becker, son of Otto Sander, who plays a closeted homosexual in love with the protagonist here. And there is also some nice music in here, orgasmic organ playing on several occasions. It's always nice to see films that go for realism over unrealistic developments, even if that means no happy end and this is the case here as well. There were a couple moments when the film dragged, but that's nothing unexpected for a movie that crosses the 2-hour mark. Still, the story and characters along with competent acting and Vilsmaier's good job behind the camera make this one worth a watch. Certainly not a film for anybody, but I give it a thumbs-up and recommend checking it out.