'It is not a premeditated action, or rather it's not an action at all, but an absence of action, an action that you don't perform, actions that you avoid performing.' - George Perec, 'The Man Who Sleeps'
A film by Bernard Queysanne and George Perec based on Perec's 1967 novel of the same name in which a young student, overcome by a sense of alienation and insignificance, withdraws from society and social life. In a state of apparent indifference, he wanders the streets of Paris or wastes time in the solitude of his home. The film contains no dialogue, we only hear a hypnotic female voice-over, in the second person singular, who seems to address the main character. Although the text is crucial, the black and white images full of masterful cinematography also speak.
In this poetic work of art, the house plays the role of a refuge. A stagnant and isolated island, for and of yourself alone.
The Man Who Sleeps is a unique meditation on depression, nihilism and loneliness in the big city, with a glimmer of hope at the end.