‘Slumberous’ deals with a very important thing that becomes problematic if not taken care of properly: the mind. The plot is simple: a girl is alone in a house, but that’s the tip of the iceberg, as she feels trapped in her own mind, a mind that is exceedingly noisy in a quiet environment. Her inner struggle is extremely poetic, and we could find close connections to Jean Michel Basquiat’s art in the noise that comes from deep silence. In Basquiat’s art, the paintings are ‘mute’, but they are as noisy as Times Square on a traffic jam. Well, the same law is applicable here – the girl lives in total silence, but her mind is troubled by the inner noise. At first, she feels like her hamster is the one driving her crazy, but after watching this movie we all can agree it’s not that specific external factor that is making her unstable.

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This kind of inner disturbance is amazingly powerful in art and it is the basis of many of the postmodern creations people nowadays appreciate. At first, we wanted to consider ‘Slumberous’ as an experimental video, something that has that inner meaning not in the narrative, but exactly in the absence of the narrative. It’s a good thing we didn’t because the narrative here speaks more than thousands of words director Sara Eustaquio could have fit in her film. Anxiety plays an important role here, and we can consider it as being the engine that moves the whole plot in a sort of unexpected dance that keeps the viewer engaged. It’s not easy to create a film, be it experimental or not, with only one character that can fill the blanks. Fortunately, Eustaquio did a good job in inserting anxiety as a supporting character, and even at some points managing to put it in the spotlight.

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‘Slumberous’ can be perceived more as a complex, visceral experience than a short drama... and this is what we liked the most about it.

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Written by Vlad A. G