Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Sleep Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 11, 2022

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you dream you're dreaming, and then supposedly "wake up", only to realize the dream is continuing? If so, you may be better prepared than some for the surreal onslaught that awaits in the provocative thriller Sleep, a film which even according to some of the supplements on this disc may ask more questions than it ultimately answers. The film is ostensibly about two women, mother Marlene (Sandra Hüller) and daughter Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof), and mysteries that accrue after Marlene, who suffers from a kind of sleep apnea where nightmares make her stop breathing, decides to investigate at a hotel that keeps showing up in those nightmares. Though the film is deliberately edited in a disjointed fashion, mixing timelines, frequently intercutting between various characters, and traversing the so-called "liminal" space between wakefulness and dreams, it becomes apparent that this strategy to visit the hotel only results in Marlene becoming virtually catatonic, consigned to a hospital bed. An inquisitive Mona decides to follow in her mother's footsteps, though the film also slowly reveals that Mona may be following in her mother's footsteps in less literal ways, and may in fact suffer from some of the same debilitating conditions that have made her mother unresponsive.

One of the most challenging things about Sleep is trying to determine what (if anything) is "really" happening. In that regard, it may be salient to focus on the film's very opening scene, which seems to be a mundane vignette depicting Marlene and Mona playing a game of Jenga. I'll simply refer those interested to take a gander at the third screenshot I've uploaded to accompany this review, and if nothing looks unusual, simply gaze a little more acutely at the stack of Jenga pieces. That surprising element is then quickly matched by a really interesting push into Marlene's face, in a kind of cinematic sleight of hand which may remind some of Hitchcock's vaunted "Vertigo technique", where she suddenly collapses onto (actually, kind of into) a bed, suggesting (perhaps) that the foregoing was "just a dream".

Co-writer and director Michael Venus has gone on record stating that he wanted to reimagine the so-called Heimatfilme in a new, unabashedly sinister, way. Heimat films were a perhaps understandable response on the part of German filmmakers after the devastation of World War II, and sought to portray a simpler village life that was often steeped in nostalgia. Kind of disturbingly hilarious in that regard (and parts of Sleep are rather darkly humorous), when Mona starts poking her nose around the deserted hotel (since it's the off season) she discovers that owners Otto (August Schmolzer) and his wife Lore (Marion Kracht) may be pining nostalgically for a past that many Germans would probably just as soon prefer to be forgotten.

Now this plot summary may seem fairly rational, but it can't come close to providing a clue as to what a bizarre viewing experience Sleep is, especially after what Michael Venus states are certain folklorist ideas borrowed from The Brothers Grimm (the actual writers, not the film) start entering the fray. And in fact Sleep often plays like a dark fairy tale take on "haunted hotel" films like The Shining. It's no mere coincidence that one of the supplements featuring Venus on this disc has the title "This is no dream. . .", since that was a key line of dialogue uttered by a certain Mrs. Guy Woodhouse in Rosemary's Baby, and Sleep, rather like that film, plies an increasing state of paranoia as a young woman is forced to confront forces quite possibly beyond her understanding, let alone her control.

Sleep Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sleep is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. The insert booklet contains only the following generic information about the transfer:

Sleep is presented in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio [sic] with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound. The High Definition master was provided by Global Screen, GMBH.

I haven't been able to track down any authoritative technical information on the shoot, and I wasn't able to really make out any model names on some of the cameras that can briefly be seen in some of the supplements, but the IMDb has a rather weird "2K" listed after the designation that the film is in color, which I assume pertains to the DI. One way or the other, this is a sharp and appealing looking presentation, one where the "magical realist" elements are so convincingly woven into the proceedings that you may not actually notice all of them right off the bat (as in the case of the Jenga stack mentioned above). Fine detail is extremely well rendered for virtually all of the presentation, with elements like the fabrics that Mona wears almost palpable at times. Other aspects, like the bristly fur of the wild boars that make recurrent appearances, are also generally very impressive. The palette is intentionally tamped down a lot of the time, though that makes moments like the bright red (hellishly red) hotel sign, or a later scene under a blacklight, really pop convincingly, if only by comparison. I noticed no issues with compression anomalies.

Sleep Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sleep features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original German. The film has a hallucinatory sound design at times, with seemingly disjunctive ambient environmental effects wafting in and out of the soundstage, and with certain effects, like a breath sucking demon, featuring some unsettling sounds. Outdoor scenes offer good spaciousness, but even some of the inside material benefits from smartly placed directional effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Sleep Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This may be the first Arrow disc I've reviewed (and maybe the first disc from any label I've reviewed) which brings up a "spoiler" warning when the Special Features submenu is accessed. Also, perhaps because this is a German language film, Arrow has authored the disc with optional English subtitles for the English language supplements (including the commentary).

• Audio Commentary by Sean Hogan & Kim Newman


• A Strange Dark Magic (HD; 16:38) is another really interesting visual essay from Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, advertised as focusing on ritual, fairy tale, masks and meaning.


• Sleepwalking Through National Trauma (HD; 22:13) is another compelling visua essay, this one by Anton Bitel, which delves into the "cultural unconscious".


• Dream & Folktale in Sleep (HD; 11:13) features Louise S. Milne, Professor of Film at Edinburgh Napier University and Lecturer in Popular Art & Folk Culture at Edinburgh College of Art.


• This is No Dream. . . (HD; 2:17) is a great, kind of cheekily funny, introduction to this Blu-ray presentation by director Michael Venus and star Go Swantje Kohlhof.


• Talking in Their Sleep (HD; 26:04) features Michael Venus and Gro Swantje Kohlof again, in a Zoom like conversation originally filmed during lockdown for the 2020 Tohorror Fantastic Film Festival.


• A Dream We Dream Together (HD; 16:07) is a kind of "tour" through how Covid 19 has disrupted various film festivals, with a collection of various filmed introductions Michael Venus put together for various showings.


• Making Dreams Come True (HD; 2:46) offers some brief behind the scenes footage. In German with English subtitles.


• Deleted Scenes all feature interstitial menu text descriptions replete with timecodes as to where they would have been in the final film:

  An Invitation to Normality (HD; 00:53)

  
  

  Pest Control (HD; 00:58)

  
  

  When Wolfram Rules the World (HD; 1:56)

  
  

  King Otto (HD; 00:55)

• Marlene's Sketches (HD) features artist Christoph Vieweg's creations for the film. This also includes some introductory text from Michael Venus.


• Trailer (HD; 1:39)


• Image Galleries

  Promotional Stills and Posters (HD)

  
  

  Behind the Scenes

Additionally, Arrow provides a typically well appointed insert booklet, as well as a double sided fold out poster featuring two choices of newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Oink Creative. Packaging features a slipcover.

Sleep Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some of the supplements on this disc get into a laundry list of perceived antecedents to this film, including works by such notable gurus as Mario Bava and David Lynch, but despite some elements that admittedly have populated other outings, Sleep is rather bracingly sui generis. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package outstanding. Highly recommended.