The Sleeping Dictionary (2003)

Director:

Guy Jenkin

Writer:

Guy Jenkin (writer)

Release Date:

31 January 2003 (Mexico)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Learn to speak her language.

Plot:

An eager young Englishman is dispatched to Sarawak to become part of the British colonial government...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Colony | Pith Helmet | Drink | Dancer

Awards:

4 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Jessica Alba	...	Selima
Brenda Blethyn	...	Aggie
Hugh Dancy	...	John Truscott
Bob Hoskins	...	Henry
Christopher Ling Lee Ian	...	Jasmine
Junix Inocian	...	Famous
Michael Jessing Langgi	...	Melaka
Mano Maniam	...	Policeman
K.K. Moggie	...	Tipong
Emily Mortimer	...	Cecil
Cicilia Anak Richard	...	Jester Woman
Malcolm Rogers	...	Vicar
Eugene Salleh	...	Belansai
Noah Taylor	...	Neville
Kate Helen White	...	Mandar
Prang	...	Famous Monkey

Directed by
Guy Jenkin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Guy Jenkin		writer

Produced by
Simon Bosanquet	....	producer
Frank Hildebrand	....	executive producer
Jimmy Mulville	....	producer
Denise O'Donoghue	....	producer
Mark Ordesky	....	executive producer
Chandran Rutnam	....	associate producer
Charles Wang	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Simon Boswell

Cinematography by
Martin Fuhrer		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lesley Walker

Casting by
Mary Selway

Production Design by
Simon Holland

Art Direction by
Clinton Cavers		(supervising art director)
Errol Kelly

Set Decoration by
Judy Farr

Costume Design by
Penny Rose

Makeup Department
Mohamad Roslan Ahmad	....	makeup artist
Saidatulnisa B.T. Aminuddin	....	hair stylist
Jan Archibald	....	hair designer
Carole Bennett	....	hair assistant: UK (as Carol Bennett)
Nor Azmi Sham Bin Omar	....	makeup artist
Barrie Gower	....	special makeup effects artist
Mohammad Z.B.H. Hassan	....	hair stylist
Noor Hawa	....	makeup artist (as Noor Hawa Salam)
Sally Hennen	....	makeup assistant: UK (as Sally Hennan)
Maureen Hetherington	....	makeup assistant: UK (as Maureen Hedrington)
James Kho	....	daily crew
Mohammad Z.B.A. Rahman	....	makeup artist
Janah Binti Sayani	....	daily crew
Eric Scruby	....	hair assistant: UK
Lou Shepherd	....	hair assistant: UK
Amber Sibley	....	makeup artist
Anne Spiers	....	makeup designer (as Annie Spiers)
Annie Townsend	....	hair assistant: UK (as Anne Townsend)
Christine Whitney	....	makeup assistant: UK (as Chrissie Whitney)

Production Management
Magen Appathurai	....	unit manager
Ainsley De Silva	....	production manager
Jack Deutchman	....	post-production supervisor
Carla Fry	....	executive in charge of production
Frank Hildebrand	....	unit production manager
Robin Hollister	....	unit manager
Jody Levin	....	executive in charge of post-production
Rachel Neale	....	unit production manager: UK
Frank Salvino	....	post-production supervisor
Maria Walker	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hairul Salleh Askor	....	second second assistant director
Simon Bosanquet	....	second unit director
Caspar Campbell	....	third assistant director
Mark Egerton	....	first assistant director
Sherard Jayasuriya	....	second assistant director
Liz Legum	....	second assistant director: UK
Gregory Stitt	....	first assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Liew Ah Seow	....	carpenter
Sibah Anak Rokeh	....	props handyman
Ian Ango	....	carpenter
Ranjith Anuradha	....	painter (as Anuradha Ranjith)
Michael Appuhamy	....	carpenter
Bidin Bin Hassan	....	set dresser
Ibrahim Bin Jaragan	....	set dresser
Charlie Choong Wee Cheng	....	construction supervisor
Patricia Chung Lee Moi	....	draftsperson
Adrian Cornelius	....	art department assistant
Hannah Coupland	....	assistant set decorator: UK
Edward Dissanayake	....	dressing props
Lal Dissanayake	....	greensman
Chow Foo Fa	....	carpenter
Rohan Fernando	....	carpenter
W.L.G. Fonseka	....	carpenter
Jan Grosvenor	....	propmaker
Jan Grosvenor	....	sculptor
Brian Groves	....	supervising painter
Lal Harindranath	....	leadman
Gary Hedges	....	stand-by carpenter: UK (as Garry Hedges)
John Hedges	....	construction supervisor
Jode Ranjan Hettiyadura	....	carpenter
Chin Sin Ho	....	carpenter
Chong Hoi Peng	....	carpenter
Yee I-Lann	....	art director: second unit
Douglas Ingram	....	storyboard artist
K.D. Justin	....	construction foreman
P.G. Kapunaratna	....	painter
Foo Kim Sin	....	carpenter
Chong Kim	....	carpenter
Lionel Liyanage	....	props storeman
Fook Loi	....	carpenter
Chai Men Nam	....	carpenter
G.T.R. Mendis	....	carpenter
Nick Milner	....	prop storeman: UK
Senaka Nawaratne	....	draftsperson (as Senaka Navaratne)
Rob Nevis	....	chargehand stand-by props
Tai Chong Ngui	....	dressing props
Dyan Ong	....	set dressing buyer
Raymond Perera	....	carpenter
Salinda Perera	....	carpenter (as George Salinda Perera)
Nihal Ponweera	....	carpenter (as Sumith Nihal Ponweera)
Sunil Premaratine	....	stand-by props (as Sunil Premaratne)
Manoj Priyantha	....	painter
Paul Purdy	....	property master
Mulvade B. Raius	....	set dresser
D. Ranasinghe	....	chargehand dressing props
Percy Rodrigo	....	stand-by painter (as K.A. Percy Rodrigo)
Priyanka Sanjeewa	....	carpenter
R.K.G. Sathyapala	....	carpenter
Don Satyananda	....	painter
Pas Nihal Silva	....	carpenter
Upali Silva	....	carpenter (as Luxman Upali Silva)
Chong Mo Soo I.	....	carpenter
Anthony Strong	....	stand-by stagehand: UK
Alan Titmus	....	supervising construction foreman
L.M. Ruwan Wijenundara	....	stand-by carpenter (as Ruwan Wijesurendra)
Sunil Wijeratne	....	assistant art director
N. Wijewardena	....	dressing props
Hugh Fottrell	....	stand-by propman (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Bateman	....	adr mixer
John Bateman	....	foley mixer
Jonathan Bates	....	supervising sound editor
Philip Bothamley	....	dialogue editor (as Phil Bothamley)
Tim Cavagin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tony Cook	....	boom operator
Rony Esher	....	sound recordist
Mohamed Faisel	....	sound assistant
Richard Fettes	....	foley editor
Simon Firsht	....	boom operator: UK
Pauline Griffiths	....	foley artist
Ray Hathaway	....	adr recordist
Alex Hudd	....	sound consultant: dolby
Craig Irving	....	sound re-recording mixer
Peter Ishaq	....	sound recordist
Richard Jay	....	sound maintenance: UK
Abdul Kader Sahib	....	sound assistant
Mark Lafbery	....	sound re-recording mixer assistant
Jenny Lee Wright	....	foley artist
Nick Lowe	....	foley editor
Colin Nicolson	....	sound mixer
Steve Single	....	sound re-recording mixer assistant
Alastair Sirkett	....	sound effects editor
Alan Sutcliffe	....	sound recordist (as Alan Sutcliff)
Bruce Wills	....	sound mixer
Wendy Czajkowsky	....	sync supervisor: Vancouver (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Rufus Alponso	....	rain effects technician
Raymond Chia Soong Meng	....	special effects technician
Thangiah Krishnamoorthy	....	assistant pyrotechnician
Frankie Phang Mun Klat	....	special effects technician
Tony Phelan	....	special effects supervisor
B.R.C. Rajasiri	....	rain effects technician
Ian Wingrove	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Mark Bakowski	....	Domino operator
Angus Cameron	....	visual effects supervisor
Andrew Jeffery	....	visual effects coordinator (as Andy Jeffery)
Antony Hunt	....	executive producer: Mill Film (uncredited)

Stunts
Ray De-Haan	....	stunts
Mark Lisbon	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Muhamad Ahmal	....	key grip: second unit
M. Ariyaratne Perera	....	rigging gaffer (as Ariyaratne Perera)
R. Athysayam	....	electrical rigger
Sarah Bartles-Smith	....	clapper loader
Yek Bin Abdullah	....	key grip: second unit
Shpinee Bin Ithnin	....	grip
Ahmad Zyul Bin Zynooddin	....	grip
Mohammad Sazali Bothman	....	electrical rigger
Fande Chi Sing Fung	....	camera technician
A.M. Ranjith Dissanayake	....	electrician
Sam Garwood	....	focus puller
Abdul Halim Omar	....	clapper loader: "b" camera
Ahmad Harun B. Hamdi	....	grip
Roy Heng Soong Seng	....	video assist operator
Azman Bin Hitam	....	grip (as Aidil Azman Bin Hitam)
Stuart Howell	....	Steadicam operator
Stuart Howell	....	camera operator
Selvan Kannan	....	electrician
Bill Kaye	....	still photographer
Lim Huat Kim	....	clapper loader: "b" camera
Lim Huat Kim	....	clapper loader: second unit
Surendra Kumar Thangavel	....	best boy
Adam Lokman	....	focus puller: "b" camera
Nihal Mallawarachchi	....	electrician (as Nihal Mallawaarchchy)
S. Mohan	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Mohd Jeffri Mohd Yusof	....	focus puller: "b" camera (as Modh Jeffri Bin Mohd Yusof)
Mohd Jeffri Mohd Yusof	....	focus puller: second unit (as Mohd Jeffri Bin Mohd Yusof)
M. Surreendran M. Muniandy	....	electrician
Peter Myslowski	....	key grip
Damith Nandalal	....	electrician
Jagath Nissanka	....	electrical rigger (as Nissanka Jagath)
Joe Sakol Palvanichkul	....	generator operator: facility (as Sakol Palvanichkul)
Rohana Premachandra	....	grip
Lalith Premalal	....	electrician
Thilak Pushpakumara	....	grip
Alex Scott	....	gaffer
Sunram Sinnathamby	....	generator operator
David Smith	....	optical cameraman
Gary Spratling	....	camera operator: UK
Sivakumaran Sreenivasan	....	grip
Arumugam Subramaniam	....	generator operator
Mani Kanthan Sunnasamy	....	electrician
Gay Hian Teoh	....	camera operator: "b" camera (as Teoh Gay Hian)
Gay Hian Teoh	....	director of photography: second unit
D. Van Gramberg	....	best boy (as Denham Van Gramberg)
Ganesan Veramuthoo	....	electrician (as Ganeson Veramuthoo)
Dennis Watson	....	rigger: UK
Sazuwan Zulkefli	....	gaffer: second unit

Casting Department
Hairul Salleh Askor	....	extras casting manager
Goh Sim Zee	....	extras casting assistant
Sylvester Thomas	....	extras casting
Fiona Weir	....	casting assistant
'Kenneth' Yip Yong Jua	....	assistant extras casting
Louis Elman	....	adr voice casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Abang Abdul Halkim Abang Drashid	....	wardrobe helper
Natarah B.T. Ahmad	....	wardrobe helper
Annie Crawford	....	wardrobe supervisor: UK (as Anne Crawford)
Mark Holmes	....	wardrobe assistant: UK
Marlene Lawlor	....	costume buyer
Jo Measure	....	wardrobe set supervisor
Ali Mohamad	....	costume maker
Mahmood Omar	....	assistant to costume designer
Suzila Hanim Omar	....	wardrobe assistant
Ameer Sahibjahn	....	wardrobe assistant
Uz Taufek	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Clive Bates	....	editorial trainee
Claire Ferguson	....	assistant editor: avid
Jeremy Hume	....	assistant editor
Mike Stainer	....	color timer
Royce Smith	....	color timer (uncredited)

Music Department
Chris Barrett	....	assistant score engineer
Paul Broucek	....	music executive
Terry Davies	....	conductor
Terry Davies	....	orchestrator
Geoff Foster	....	score mixer
Geoff Foster	....	score recordist
Isobel Griffiths	....	music contractor
Jake Jackson	....	assistant score engineer
Erin Scully	....	music executive
Lori Silfen	....	music business affairs
Graham Sutton	....	music editor
Rosemary Warren-Green	....	orchestra leader (as Rose Warren-Green)

Transportation Department
Gary Birmingham	....	transportation coordinator: UK
Gary Birmingham	....	unit driver: UK
Upali Gunaratne	....	transportation coordinator
Chanthara Mohan	....	vehicle coordinator
James Pui Wei Chung	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Shan Iman Abdullah	....	location manager: second unit
Rael Abu	....	facility assistant
Chris Allies	....	title designer
Lylie Almedia	....	accountant (as Lylie Almeida)
Claudette Almeida	....	assistant production coordinator: Boston
Magen Appathurai	....	location manager
Cassandra Barbour	....	rights and clearances: Entertainment Clearances
Diana Beer	....	contract administrator
Dana Belcastro	....	production executive
Ramona Braganza	....	trainer: Ms. Alba
Jack Carter	....	controller: construction
Laurie Cartwright	....	risk management
Patsy de Lord	....	production coordinator
Chris Dhamodharan	....	production assistant (as Chris Dhamohdaran)
Eugene Dior	....	floor runner
Peter Eardley	....	assistant accountant: UK
Jeff Egan	....	production safety
Soon Lee Eng	....	cashier
Sue Field	....	script supervisor
Hugh Fottrell	....	animal coordinator
Emily Glatter	....	supervising production coordinator
Matthew Hassall	....	stand-in: John
Wendy Hawley	....	stand-in: Aggie
Law Moh Hiong	....	location assistant
Mering Jasmine	....	production secretary (as Jasmine Mering)
Withanage Mendis Jayasekera	....	facility manager
Arriane Jayasuriya	....	stand-in: Selima
Sara Keene	....	unit publicist
Yeo Kheng Chiew	....	production runner
Melissa Lai Wei Wei	....	secretary to executive producer
Lone Friis Larsen	....	stand-in: Cecil
Yin Nee Lee	....	nurse: construction
Cecilia Malong	....	coordinator: Bukhit Seban Hotel
Robert Malong	....	assistant armorer
Alex Matcham	....	production controller
Andrew Matthews	....	financial consultant
Andy Maxwell	....	floor runner: UK
Margaret Molnar	....	researcher
Jennifer Mount	....	risk management
Harry Naylor	....	projectionist
Clive Noakes	....	laboratory contact
Edgar Ong	....	production assistant (as Edgar Ong Liang Yong)
P. Panjanathen	....	assistant location manager
David Panzer	....	production safety
N.G. Kim Poh	....	assistant animal wrangler
Paul Prokop	....	production controller
Justine Redfern	....	assistant to producer
Leonard Sabu	....	bearer organizer
Carl Schmidt	....	armorer
Joy Scott	....	floor runner
Dan Seekman	....	legal coordinator
Julianna Selfridge	....	risk management (as Juliana Selfridge)
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances: Entertainment Clearances
Effenay Shahrul	....	facility assistant
Sharan Jit Singh	....	assistant armorer
Wannapa 'Gai' Sinthunawa	....	assistant accountant
A. Premadasa Subasinghe	....	craft service
Ramli Adbullah Suhaidel	....	facility assistant
Robin Syawe Fiik Lai	....	animal wrangler
Stephen Taylor	....	production accountant (as Steven Taylor)
Samantha Thomas	....	location manager: UK
Valerie Toh Yun Ling	....	assistant to unit manager
Kirsten Wing	....	assistant coordinator
Kirsten Wing	....	contact: London
Rowena Wong	....	floor runner
Wendy Zych	....	production assistant: London
Stephanie Pecuch	....	assistant: Dana Belcastro (uncredited)

Thanks
Ileen Maisel	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Fine Line Features
• Katira Productions GmbH & Co. KG (in association with)
• New Line Productions (in association with)
• Southeast Asia Film Location Services Sdn. Bhd.

Distributors

• Fine Line Features (2003) (USA) (all media)
• Nexo (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• Entertainment in Video (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• FS Film Oy (2003) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)
• GAGA
• GAGA (2003) (Japan) (all media)
• Kanal 2 (2007) (Estonia) (TV)
• PlayArte Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• PlayArte Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV) (TV1)

Special Effects

• Mill Films (I) (digital and optical effects)

Other Companies

• 2020 Casting  extras casting
• AON/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  insurance (as Aon/Albert G Ruben)
• ARRI Media  grip equipment: England
• Air Studios  music recorded at
• Angels & Bermans  costume rental: UK
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color
• DeLuxe Toronto  prints
• Edit Hire (New Technology)  AVID editorial equipment: England (as Edit Hire)
• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• F.E.G. Enterprises  additional grip and lighting equipment: Malaysia
• International Film Guarantors  completion guarantee
• Kodak  photographed on film stock by
• Lee Lighting  electric equipment: England
• Normah Medical Specialists  paramedics
• Panavision UK  camera equipment: England (as Panavision)
• Panavision  camera and prime lenses: Malaysia
• Partex Interbnational  additional grip and lighting equipment: Malaysia
• Salon Films  dollies, generators, cranes, remote head, lighting and grip equipment: Malaysia
• Salon Films  serviced by: Malaysia
• Sargent Disc  payroll
• Sylvia Wheeler Film Services  negative cutting
• Twickenham Film Studios  post-production
• Twickenham Film Studios  sound re-recorded at

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality and language

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | Malaysia | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:12 | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Brazil:12 | Germany:12 | USA:R | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Company:

Fine Line Features

Trivia:

The film used more than 600 Iban extras.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Selima and Truscott are given the turquoise bracelets, she takes Truscott's off and wears it. In the next shot, she gives him hers but she's still holding his.

Quotes:

John Truscott:[Post-sex] I'm sorry that was too quick wasn't it?
Selima:You teach me English, I teach you this.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

East Of The Sun (West Of The Moon)

Beautifully shot, but boy is it sappy

I just saw a terrible film called The Sleeping Dictionary. One reviewer on Four Word Film Review (www.fwfr.com) got it right right when he wrote, "From A to Zzzzzzzzz." The story is about an English colonialist jerk that comes to Malaysia to "civilize the savages" so to speak and ends up falling in love with his sleeping dictionary. A sleeping dictionary is a native Malaysian prostitute fluent in English that services Englishmen colonialists and teaches them her native language in return for ... well the movie never really makes that clear, but I can only assume he gives her money or something. Needless to say, the movie focuses a lot more on the "sleeping" part than on the "dictionary" part of the job description. Things get complicated for our young hero when the forbidden love affair gets compounded by her culture, his soap opera domestic situation, and his own boundless stupidity in every major decision he makes throughout the film.

So yes, the movie has some major flaws, but on the other hand, it delivered exactly the two things I rented it for in the first place: a beautifully photographed exotic location, and an even more beautifully photographed and exotic woman that plays the sleeping dictionary, Jessica Alba. My friend told me that this crappy movie was her at her most beautiful and damn was he right. She's not a great actress, and doesn't quite pass for Malaysian, and its pretty obvious that they use a body double for the nudity, but who cares? Jessica Alba has that rare face and figure that's more than just sexy, but also beautiful in the way that a Vivaldi violin concerto or a Rembrandt painting is.

(P.S. Sorry to all you feminists out there who discourage objectifying women, the "male gaze," etc. etc., but I hope you can understand that I mean no disrespect.)