This is definitely among the best films of 2016, a rather strong year for cinema. It is a prodigious thought knowing that such a powerful film as Sleep Has Her House was shot on an iPhone. The darkly beautiful cinematography is complemented by harmonious score and ethereal images. Perhaps every last shot of the film could serve as its poster. Sleep combines the best elements of experimental films like The Hart of London, The Turin Horse, and Visions of Meditation to form an ineffable cinematic experience. The film is thoroughly engaging and beautifully shot and edited. Despite being considered a "slow movie", Sleep Has Her House moves forward fairly quickly, never focusing on one shot for too long, balancing its themes quite well.
Perhaps Barley's greatest achievement with this film is portraying a dream-like state, channeling the likes of Tarkovsky and Deren. The film's length matches the time of an average sleep cycle, and the film itself carries the viewer through such a dream and its different stages.
The first part of the film depicts a sense of ambivalence within a dream found in the confines of nature. The remainder of the film appears as a gradual descent into nature's acceptance of the world's end, the true inevitable nightmare. This is accomplished with Barley's impressive form and leaves this writer with a sense of awe, similar to the emotional response gained from Fricke and Reggio's films, although through different subject matter.
This viewer expects a gradual increase of attention and appreciation for Barley's work by cinephiles in the near future. It is great. Watch it for yourself.
Perhaps Barley's greatest achievement with this film is portraying a dream-like state, channeling the likes of Tarkovsky and Deren. The film's length matches the time of an average sleep cycle, and the film itself carries the viewer through such a dream and its different stages.
The first part of the film depicts a sense of ambivalence within a dream found in the confines of nature. The remainder of the film appears as a gradual descent into nature's acceptance of the world's end, the true inevitable nightmare. This is accomplished with Barley's impressive form and leaves this writer with a sense of awe, similar to the emotional response gained from Fricke and Reggio's films, although through different subject matter.
This viewer expects a gradual increase of attention and appreciation for Barley's work by cinephiles in the near future. It is great. Watch it for yourself.