Sleep Always (2002)

Recorded entirely on super 8 film, Sleep Always tells the story of a lonely and isolated Canadian jazz musician who forms a friendship with Nada, a strange homeless girl, and his growing obsession with her.

Directors:

Rick Palidwor, Mitch Perkins

Writer:

Rick Palidwor

Stars:

Ed Fielding, Laurie Maher, Fred Spek

Cast

Credited cast:
Ed Fielding	...	The neighbor
Laurie Maher	...	Nada
Fred Spek	...	Frank

Storyline

Working by day and playing jazz saxophone by night, Frank's isolation deepens when he becomes obsessed with the enigmatic figure of Nada - an alluring homeless girl. Intent on saving Nada from life on the street, Frank pursues the object of his social and sexual fantasy at all costs.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

One of very few films to be shot entirely on super 8 film, next to the films Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore (1996) , Ozone: The Attack of the Redneck Mutants (1986) , Year of the Horse (1997) and The Manson Family (1997) . Super 8 film can be a difficult format to wok with as it was originally intended to be just home movie film for amateur filmmakers. A typical cartridge of super 8 film only records for three minutes, so Sleep Always is a technical achievement because of its over-an-hour length. The filmmakers recorded numerous scenes on different cartridges and later spliced them together. Super 8 film is a silent film stock as well, meaning that audio was matched up to the characters' lines and actions after recording.

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Soundtracks

You Are Not A Number
by The Dinner Is Ruined
From the CD Elevator Music For Non-Claustrophobic People
Used with permission

User Reviews

Dream Cinema Is Still Alive

I really enjoyed this film. Great atmosphere and locations, well-photographed with the experimental DS8mm film format. Think L'atalante crossed with Mulholland Drive and you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Sleep Always (not that the film seems derivative of these, far from it) Particularly well done in the film is the female lead character Nada. She has a magnetic personality that nicely contrasts with the somewhat awkward protagonist. I enjoyed watching their different energies interact, although the dubbed dialogue wasn't always convincing. The film works best at setting a particular mood(fever dream?) and sustaining that mood for the 80 plus minutes it lasts. For that alone Sleep Always is worth seeing. The theme of unrequited love is well done and there is obviously some psychological/mythic level this film is exploring, but not very deeply or with much insight.

For an art form that has long ago fallen into decadence, its nice to see there are films being made with different motives than simple diversion and $$$. Well worth your time if you are serious about cinema.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 2003 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD60,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Friendly Fire

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1