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13 out of 15 people found the following review useful: Very intense, 20 April 2004 Author: katji_b from Canton
While certainly to many American viewers this film lacks the flare of Hollywood, but that's what it so exquisite about it. I am not exactly a film connoisseur, I am American foreign film fan and I know that this film probably does not appeal to the general public. However for those who like psychological thrillers andstories about misunderstood and socially inept geniuses, this is amazing.The music and cinematography is fantastic. Plus this film incorporated 3 of my favorite German actors. The way that the sound was utilized is just unbelievable as well.For the intellectuals out there who appreciate art in all things, rent or buy this one.
12 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Forget the film and read the novel!, 18 February 2001 Author: Ilsy from Austria
I made the mistake to read the novel two days before i went to the cinema to see Schlafes Bruder. I loved the book and would have left the cinema after half of the film if i hadn't been invited (so i could not run away).The story is completely different from the novel and i cannot understand how the author could let this happen - and helped working out the terrible script! It's really a pity. Vilsmair once again pushed his wife into the film, althogh there wouldn't be any part in the book matching for her. (I once saw Stalingrad from Vilsmair and was sure that i wouldn't see Mrs Vavrova, because i expected only men in this film. Poor me! Of cours Vilsmair found once again a role for his wife!) So the tiny, tender and silent Elsbeth, a 17-year old girl, is played by a thirty-year-old woman like a man eating vamp from the countryside. Ridiculous!In the novel everybody admires Elias Alder for playing the organ in church like an angel. He plays the old church songs like no one did before and made the hearts of the people weak and happy. In the film he plays experimental music, he beats the organ like a madman - i think that the inhabitants of a small austrian village would have beaten him out of the church if he did play that way! I liked Eisermann and Becker, they are always good to watch. But it's a waste of time watching this embarassing movie if you like the book - and the book is really great!
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful: beautiful addition to the book, 10 September 2006 Author: MotokoGS from United States
the movie is based on the book written by the Austrian writer Robert Schneider and expands on it beautifully. it can be a bit difficult to follow and if you are looking for an action packed thriller, this is not the movie for you. The main character, Elias Alder, is born in 1803 into a town in the Austrian mountains. The town is so remote, that it is practically never visited by outsiders, and the inhabitants do not leave. there are only two families living in the village, continuously feuding, leading lives that go nowhere. here Elias is born with perfect (even supernatural) hearing. both the book and the movie illustrate the merciless life in a town that has been dying for for years and the life of a young man born with an extraordinary gift, which is worthless in the life and world he is born into. the tag-line "wer schlaeft liebt nicht" translates to "he who sleeps, does not love" - one of the lines from the movie - and the title give ample indication of the characters' futile lives. "schlafes bruder" or "sleep's brother" is death.
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Brilliant., 21 December 2007 Author: lotuslalune from United States
To the person who said this film is not worth your time ... well, your "review" of the film is not worth the time of half the members of IMDb, but why should I be surprised when all I ever find on this website are people trying to outwit each other with their supposed intellectual superiority? The film is based on a book by Robert Schneider, who also wrote the screenplay. Having read both the book and seen the film, I think the film was a decent adaptation. As one review I read said, the director did seem to take a more stylistic and overall artistic angle on the story, and as such much of the finest material from the book was lost.However, the film itself is still an excellent piece of work and stands on its own, aside from the book, as a remarkable movie. I'm not sure I noticed anything about "horrible sound effects", but I remember first seeing this film several years ago on Bravo late one night, and I could not get it out of my head for the next several YEARS ... until I discovered Amazon and was able to find an imported copy to purchase for my own. Only a year ago did I actually read the book, which was incredibly engrossing, and I encourage anyone who enjoyed the film to tackle the literary version as well.The cinematography and the overwhelming metaphysical essence present in this film are what truly sucked me in. The story itself is simply beautiful in the same way that any tragedy, whether Greek or Shakespearean or whathaveyou, is captivatingly melancholy. It resonates within you and makes your heart ache for days afterward. Personally, I found the main character, Elias, to be the most fascinating element of the film. And of course, the scene in which he "opens the gates of heaven" with his sheer musical virtuosity is riveting to behold. This film is truly a delectable treat for the senses.Anyone who is truly passionate about their talent or art will relate to the "tortured artist" persona that is Elias - the isolation, the dedication to your craft in spite of other desires which we cannot displace, and the embodiment of the emotional realm that so frequently serves as the origin of our inspiration ... this is what the story is truly about. If you can appreciate that, you will love this film.
3 out of 6 people found the following review useful: If possible, read the book instead, 1 September 2005 Author: Rikku25 from Germany
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I had to read the novel by Robert Schneider for lit class years ago, and I still read the book from time to time. Before I first saw the film, I already knew that it would never be able to do justice to the book. Some things, like Elias' performance at the organ festival, can't be portrayed in a film, I think. The film's not awful, but it leaves out a few things that are quite important in the book. The acting in general is a little over the top, (and personally I think the female lead was a little too old for her part, if you keep in mind that the male lead is around 22 and she's supposed to be younger.. although I'm willing to look past that..). It's like they tried a little too hard with this movie. All in all, let me wrap it up like this: I borrowed the tape to a friend and never got it back. And it doesn't bother me much... Or, even shorter: Book good. Movie not so good.
0 out of 1 people found the following review useful: A gifted talented loner just doesn't know how to interact with others., 24 November 2007 Author: from Hong Kong
The 1st major character was well rejected or teased by other people of the similar ages. Quite often, he was left alone. His dad had been supportive but still not much help on his poor connexion to his generation. Music seems to be the only easiest thing to grow up with when alone. He was lucky to have a great devoted companion, Pete, who loves him since his childhood so that he can get an organ fixed and played.Since his father and his only childhood best friend treat him so well that he needs no hard work on almost anything. Plus, he was born with music talent. He never has to work hard on anything to get something or someone. And even the girl of his life, he can easily win her heart by chatting and dating her. Yet, he never learns to interact socially, sexually or flirtatiously. His lack of response on further interaction just confuses her and drives her mad doing things she shouldn't. On the other hand, his childhood best friend, also the elder brother of the girl of his life, gets jealous at his sister for his lust to possess him.As imagined, the resultant is a drama like a fire that will agonise themselves to "Schlafes Bruder" as a result.
2 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Stunning premise...a weak ending though...:(, 29 April 2002 Author: bruno_lambess from Sydney
All in all a stunningly filmed piece of work - if somewhat cheesy at the end - liked the first organ recital the lead gave - primo - the last one was gas too. The gay theme was cool - if a little strange - I mean you'd have thought the main man wud have cottoned-on to Peter's intense feelings for him...o...well...ya get that in the 'real' world of film! All in all a great watch with some stunning cinemagraphic tableauxs..somewhat spoilt by a script with a weak ending.
1 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Read the book..., 24 March 2006 Author: Ilsy from Austria
... and forget the movie! It's terrible! Does Dana Vavrova have anything in hands to blackmail her husband, the director Joseph Vilsmaier? Or why does he always give her the female leading part, no matter if she's the right or the wrong one for the picture. In the book the girl is simple, young, naive and 17 years old, and she never gets the idea that Elias could have feelings for her. Vavrova plays her as a man eating woman in the thirties, who holds him tight, yelling "Take me, take me!" Forget it! It's a nightmare, and I can't understand that the author of this brilliant novel gave his OK to this awfully bad picture.
5 out of 13 people found the following review useful: The Sound of Weird Music, 1 July 2003 Author: B24 from Arizona
Never let it be said that this movie in German is guilty of too much subtlety. Heavy and oft repeated use of anything stark and obvious seems to be the rule. Even the little pipe harmonium in the village church that plays like something in Vienna's Stephansdom is way too much, as are the opening scenes flying over the Alps (Where is Julie Andrews when you need her?) first backwards then vorwärts. And not only one, but several actors with Down Syndrome are on display to demonstrate the theme of inbreeding that lies over this film like a soggy blanket (a remote Austrian village as the setting for Deliverance II?). And what would a story like this be without the recurring mention of (shudder) Original Sin?The novel has none of these cheesy features. It is written in a straightforward manner, albeit with a strain of sentimentality common in popular German language fiction. As many have already commented, somebody apparently convinced the author that, when it comes to cinematic versions, more is better. Too bad. 4 of 10.
0 out of 4 people found the following review useful: If you sleep and perchance dream, then..., 30 July 2006 Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA
In the over-the-top but still watchable "Schlafes Bruder" (called "Brother of Sleep" in English), young Elias in a 19th century Austrian mountain village has a great musical talent, leading the townspeople to consider him weird (those ingrates, he could have made the village famous). When the woman whom he admires marries another man, Elias decides to commit suicide by never sleeping. Whoa.I know that European - and especially German - movies want to be serious (unlike Hollywood movies), do they have to be so exaggerated? Here, it seems that every scene has to be spirituality overload. Don't get me wrong; it's still a good movie. We get a feeling of what a hard life it was in those remote villages back then, particularly since everyone in this one is inbred. It's just that they go a little overboard in trying to stress everything. Why must everything be a tragedy?So check it out if possible, but this probably won't become your favorite movie.
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