Sleepy, unable to sleep; awake, dozing off again. The pain of insomnia is endless, but it has given many directors inspiration to create. At midnight, let's watch these insomnia movies and relieve our boredom.
[Royal Secret Killing Order] Into the night
Year: 1985
A way to take a break is to deal with insomnia, and Ed in this film encounters a mysterious beauty and six gems on such a sleepless night, and falls into a crazy chase. Filmed in the 1980s, the film is avant-garde in incorporating comedic elements into the plot of a crime thriller. Director John Landis brought in a group of friends such as David Cornenberg and Jonathan Demi to make cameo appearances, giving their fans a surprise work.
[Psychedelic Life] Light Sleeper
Year: 1992
The drug dealer played by William Dafoe is locked in as a suspected target of a murder case, and is experiencing the confused trough of a midlife crisis, facing this double change in life and suffering from insomnia. He reminisces about the past and looks forward to new life on the streets of Manhattan at night, and the complex inner world of the characters is revealed. Together with [Taxi Driver], [American Dancer] and [Wanderer], the film forms the Hollywood Gold Medal Screenwriter Paul Schrader's Four-Part Film Series.
[Sleepless in Madrid] Insomnio
Year: 1998
This Spanish comedy begins with a sleepless night for three couples in a parallel narrative, telling the emotional choices and inflection points of life they each face. Some people choose to run to a new life after giving birth overnight, and some people are reluctant to marry and sleep all night. This "Madrid Sleepless Night", which is cut from the perspective of modern people's emotional problems, with its comedic elements, has staged a witty life show.
[Insomniac's Dream] Dream for an Insomniac
In this emotional essay about curing insomnia, the mediocre and mutilated life is finally polished by love, and Frankie, a girl who has suffered from insomnia since the age of seven, experiences a love chase and finally falls asleep in the arms of her lover. The exquisite structure, nostalgic atmosphere and witty dialogue make this film a unique romantic comedy, and the film picture is particularly impressive due to the moment when the male protagonist changes from black and white to color.
[Martin's Romance] L'Ennui
Martin, a philosophy teacher in a state of insomnia and exhaustion, enters the door of lust after encountering a mysterious woman, filling the emptiness of sleepless nights with the satisfaction of his skin. However, the woman seems to be just a symbolic being, and the crazy but mechanical lack of physical contact and emotional communication makes him gradually lose his mind and see the fragility of his own desires. This famous work by the new French director Cedric Kang has made the ethical depth of erotic films.
[Sleep] Chasing Sleep
Year: 2000
Jeff Daniels' sleepless night in the film comes from the chaos that ensues after his wife's disappearance. This slow-paced psychological thriller shows the inner world of the characters who seem to be dreaming, and the film shows the confusion and uneasiness of the protagonist through the excellent grasp of photography and lighting, and also creates a suspense that is blurred between reality and illusion. In terms of some bridge sections and details, there is a certain similarity with David Lynch's Demon Night Wasteland.
Dead Awake on the Edge of Death
Year: 2001
Insomniacs who wander the streets at sleepless nights often have unexpected discoveries. This is how Desmond witnessed a murder and began to search for the truth when all the evidence pointed to him. The protagonist's wandering and hidden insomnia is the finishing touch of this film, rather than the simple horror and dead silence commonly presented in similar films, and the film also shows a hint of black humor with the witty dialogue and strange behavior of the characters.