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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Ming-liang Tsai (writer)
Release Date:
2 December 2006 (Serbia) more
Plot:
Forest fires burn in Sumatra; a smoke covers Kuala Lumpur. Grifters beat an immigrant day laborer and leave him on the streets... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 4 nominations more
User Comments:
tedious, dull art film more (14 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Kang-sheng Lee | ... | Hsiao-Kang | |
| Shiang-chyi Chen | ... | Coffee-shop Waitress | |
| Norman Atun | ... | Rawang | |
| Pearlly Chua | ... | Coffee-Shop Boss | |
| Lee-Lin Liew | ... | Coffee-Shop Tea Maker | |
| Leonard Tee | ... | Light Seller | |
| Su-Yee Toh | ... | Boss's Second Son (as Samantha Toh Su-Yee) | |
| Kok-Fai Chiew | ... | Boss's Grandson | |
| Rong-Sin Chan | ... | Estate Agent | |
| Kok-Choy Loh | ... | Financier | |
| Shiva | ... | Indian worker | |
| Mohammad Rani Bin Baker | ... | Magician | |
| Rusli Bin Abdul Rahim | ... | Hooligan | |
| Azman Hassan | ... | Hooligan (as Azman Bin Muhammad Hasan) | |
| Hariry Jalil | ... | Hooligan (as Muhammad Hariry Abdul Jalil) |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Dark Circle (International: English title) (working title)
Hei yan cyuan (Taiwan)
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (International: English title)
more
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
115 min | Canada:115 min (Toronto International Film Festival)
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Argentina:16 | Netherlands:6 | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 | Sweden:11 | Portugal:M/12
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2007 (#10, tied with "Ne touchez pas ŕ la hache" and "Sang sattawat") more
Movie Connections:
References Últimas imágenes del naufragio (1989) more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (14 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Hei yan quan (2006)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Longest two hours of my life! | joelbarrybrandt |
| is it a gay theme movie? | aishril |
| Played in Boston again | real_cityman |
| FYI: The DVD's Out Now | oedipax |
| Another long wait? | afriedel |
Recommendations
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Comedy section | IMDb Malaysia section | Add this title to MyMovies |

Tsai Ming Liang's "I Don't Want to Sleep Alone" is yet another of those Spartan-like, minimalist Asian films (this one happens to be Chinese) that is composed almost entirely of single-take medium and long shots (this movie would have made Andre Bazin and his fellow theorists at Cahiers du Cinema jump for joy, or, at the very least, purr with contentment). The problem with such a style, beyond testing the patience of the audience, is that it distances us so much from what is happening on screen that we soon become dispassionate observers rather than the engaged participants we need to be if we are to become fully enveloped in the story. In fact, most of the time we can't figure out who anybody is or why we should be interested in anything that is going on in their lives. If this movie proves anything, it is just how essential close-ups and inter-scene cutting can be in helping us to identify with and care about a character and the situation he's going through.
As far as I can tell, the theme is about a handful of urban youth who feel isolated and alienated from one another and the world around them, but who are taking some faltering steps towards reaching out and bridging that gap, mainly through touching. But the almost total lack of dialogue and the chillingly clinical style of film-making make it frankly impossible for us to tell WHAT the movie makers' intentions might be.
There are a few erotically-charged moments in the film, but overall "I Don't Want to Sleep Alone" is an excursion into tedium that gives "art films" a bad name.