Sleep Dealer (2008)

Director:

Alex Rivera

Writers (WGA):

Alex Rivera (screenplay) &
David Riker (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 December 2008 (France)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Connect to your destiny.

Plot:

Set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences...

Plot Keywords:

Network | Computer | Poverty | Dam Busting | Drought

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Leonor Varela	...	Luz Martínez
Jacob Vargas	...	Rudy
Luis Fernando Peña	...	Memo
Giovanna Zacarías
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marius Biegai	...	Camera man
Emilio Guerrero	...	Ricky
Jake Koenig	...	Foreman
Ursula Tania	...	Prostitute

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA | Mexico

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Likely Story

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Memo, at work operating the robot, helps the worker next to him who collapses, he is not wearing the contact lenses that he needs to operate the robot. (He did not have time to take them out.)

A great movie, plagued by reviewer bias

This is one of those movies that you watch and slowly "connect" to its reality. Many people disliked that. It was either to slow compared to most of the movies today or too intense an experience to people that don't like the feeling of immersion into something else. However, from what I am sitting, it was a great movie.

First of all, one must take a step back from the usual reviewer practice and take into account that all the actors in the movie are Mexican and so is the writer/director. I don't know what budget the movie had, but it was well done in acting, atmosphere, plot, details and special effects. Winning the Sundance festival (and not being about crazy people) should also count in its favor.

Second of all, I really enjoyed the movie. It has the feel of films like Blade Runner, only it hits really closer to home. Luis Fernando Peña was a real good choice for the main role, even if it wasn't a very challenging one. As in many good movies, the main character was the idea, the plot, and the actors were just slipping into their niche.

Bottom line: this is a sci-fi movie that needs to be seen. Whatever faults it has, they are far surpassed by its qualities. The social message is just as important as the vision of a future where we can have whatever we wish for, only that we wished wrong. See it. It is worth it.