Customer Reviews

No One Sleeps

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Just rented this movie, and although I never review stuff, I had warn potential viewers. Don't buy into the "riveting" and other marketing blurbs in the review. The main character's mission in uncovering an "AIDS coverup" is highly convoluted to the point it makes absolutely no sense. And as far as acting, the main character, Stephan, is cute and the actor holds his own, but the rest of the cast walk through the film like they're helping out a grad student finish a film thesis. In fact, the entire movie plays out like a bad college film. Perhaps the unusual genre of a gay thriller (??) propelled it into national distribution. Probably the saddest part of the entire experience is the writer's attempt at drawing a parallel between Puccini's exquisite opera "Turandot" and the deranged murderer's attack of HIV+ men. Somehow, the entire population of San Francisco seems to know the story of Turandot (but oddly, not how to pronounce it). A scene where an opera singer bursts into "Nessun Dorma" (the tenor aria "No One Sleeps" -- get it? get it?) in the middle of a restaurant had me rolling on the floor. Somehow I don't think I was supposed to be laughing. There are a lot of solid, well-written yet low budget gay films out there--unfortunately, this isn't one of them.

The protagonist of "No One Sleeps" is Stefan Hein (played by Tom Wlaschiha), a doctoral student from a university in Berlin, who visits San Francisco to make a presentation at GGU (presumably Golden Gate University). Stefan presents an old idea, originally taken up by his father, that AIDS came about around 1978 when the US government allegedly tested varieties of sheep viruses on prisoners in return for releasing the prisoners earlier than expected. Although the reception to the presentation was rather impolite, Stefan is determined to spend some time in the City seeing if he can find any more records or people to substantiate the theory.

At the university, Stefan makes three acquaintances. One is a friendly graduate student, Sascha; one is a neurologist, Dr. Richard Burroghs (played by Richard Conti), who says he found Stefan's presentation the best of the day; the third is a bearded hunk, Jeffrey Russo (played by Jim Thalman), who approaches Stefan.

Meanwhile, one dead body has already shown up in a Presidio fortification. Stefan's research led him via an AIDS Project office to a club kid, whose entrance is as a corpse. At both deaths, witnesses heard music from Puccini's last grand opera, "Turandot".

Stefan pokes around. The police poke around. Connections gradually appear between the characters. Some people hum tunes from "Turandot". One character is on the board of the San Francisco Opera, which is currently performing the work. Meanwhile Stefan is being very determined to hook up with a promising, though dangerous character, who works as a waiter. Is it love, lust, or research? Meanwhile, the FBI is unusually attentive to events. Climax. Incomplete resolution.

Tom Wlaschiha attractively carried the movie. Jim Thalman and Richard Conti also gave good acting performances. Karl Fischer and Brian Yates did well in smaller roles as a nurse and a volunteer, respectively, for an AIDS-related service. The rest of the cast merits little comment.

It was nice to have new San Francisco settings, with the Potrero, Tenderloin, and South of Market Districts shown, instead of the usual tourist areas (including Castro Street). Having one scene at the Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma was a good change of pace.

The movie does bound along without giving complete back stories or explicitly tying up the loose ends. Stefan has some information before the action starts and some ideas on how to follow it up. His main methodology is walk wordlessly through sex clubs and wait for the clues and key characters to show up. He finds out about a third victim before the body is even removed from the premises. Intuitions. He is able to take a complicated route to break and enter without rehearsal. Lots of people have detailed memories of the plot of "Turandot". The relationships between the main bad guys is quite opaque. Why did Stefan keep wearing a cross? Who searched Stefan's room? Who killed one of the bad guys? Would the police be so lackadaisical? The list goes on. On a first viewing, one notices lots of loose ends. On a second viewing, one can use imagination to fill in many, but not all, of the gaps.

On the "Turandot" question, local opera fans really do replay their CDs and reread the librettos of the operas selected for performance each season by the San Francisco Opera. Stefan seems to live in a gay-friendly+ apartment building; the bad guys have reason to know the opera; the coincidence is not as impossible as some think. Still, the singing of "Nessun Dorma" at the party afterward seems unlikely, as a good singer saves his voice for the big time; maybe the wine flowed too freely?

My first viewing netted two stars. A second viewing netted three. A third would not earn a fourth. See it for Tom Wlaschiha, an interesting premise, and some new scenery.

Jochen Hick wrote and directed this little thriller of a suspense film based on the concept that the AIDS virus was a sheep virus mutated by the government to rid the world of gays and was apparently tested on convicts in the years before the outbreak of the hideous disease. Were it not for the poignancy of the concept of the film, this would fall into the category of the many films about the ruination of the world by a rampant non-prejudicial infective organism.

Stefan (Tom Wlaschiha) journeys from Berlin to San Francisco to investigate his father's scientific suppositions about the induced sheep virus and its effects of the convicts in whom it was infused. He meets with some disdain and resistance to a dead theory, but also encounters some folks who know of the theory and support his investigation. Simultaneously with his visit a series of serial murders takes place, each victim killed in a similar manner and each murder apparently accompanied by strains of music from Puccini's opera 'Turandot' which just happens to be opening at the San Francisco Opera. A police investigator Louise Tolliver (Irit Levi) and her companion cop (Kalene Parker) follow the murders while Stefan makes the rounds of the sex clubs and bars in San Francisco trying to locate men who may have been guinea pigs for his father's theory. He encounters a strange lad Jeffrey (Jim Thalman) with whom he has a cat and mouse attraction and a prominent Doctor Burroughs (Richard Conti) who seems oddly involved in the cast of suspects. How this all come to an end is the play of the film, a story as much about the search for self identity between Stefan and Jeffery as it is a case for investigation of murders.

While Tom Wlaschiha, Jim Thalman and Richard Conti do well with their roles (they are the only three who have any prior acting experience in the film!), the quality of the film sags considerably by the less than acceptable minimally talented Irit Levy and Kaylene Parker: when on screen the credibility of the story drops below zero. There are some small cameos by other actors that brighten the screen for the moments they inhabit, but in all the film is drowned by the incessant replay of 'Nessun dorma' as sung by Mario del Monaco from a recording o the opera - and that seems to be the reason for making the film! Good idea for a film and some good characterizations by the actors, but there is no resolution of the initial premise that started the whole thing. Grady Harp, February 06

Is the government suppressing information about HIV and AIDS? Is it possible that the AIDS virus originated as a governmental conspiracy, or an accidental result of a failed German experiment? No One Sleeps is one of the most intriguing movies about AIDS ever made. You need to watch it now, and
you need to tell your friends, and their friends, and so on, to watch it.

Stephen moves to San Francisco in search of the truth about AIDS. His father, now dead, left him some incredibly crucial information: a way to find some "lists" of names that prove that the AIDS virus started in a laboratory. Stephen is desperately
trying to complete his research before the people he is looking for die, as many of the long-term survivors of HIV and AIDS are being murdered at a ridiculously fast rate. Not only does he have to take on a murder mystery, but he is also confronted with so many of the problems that so many of the AIDS
activists and researchers face: not only is everyone dying, but a vast majority of the population feels defeated -- defeated by the government, defeated by their friends dying, defeated by the lack of research and money devoted to the catastrophe -- and don't have the energy to fight.

No One Sleeps dives head-on into some of the most serious questions of our time: where did AIDS come from? Was it a government conspiracy against gay people? Was it an accidental result of a failed experiment? Why are SO many people still becoming infected and dying every day--by murder or by disease? Is there any way of ever finding out all the truths? No One Sleeps gives us a glimpse into the life of people (many of them living with HIV and AIDS) devoting their lives to understanding why they, and so many of their friends, are dying. The murder plot is at times confusing, but still, very well done.
An incredibly powerful movie that you absolutely cannot pass up.

I recently read from an online reviewer that the days are long gone when gay people should watch a film simply because it is about or made by other homosexuals. I completely agree.

No One Sleeps sounds like an interesting film when you read the box, but it isn't. The premise is that a German student visiting San Francisco, researching U.S. government involvement in the creation of the AIDS virus, gets caught up in a murder plot to quiet any such revelations. This is a conspiracy theory that came about almost as soon as the virus was named. I don't know of another film where this is a plot device. I'm not sure that it wouldn't be a good plot for a film - just not this film.

Frankly, I couldn't make heads or tails of this film. At first I wasn't sure that the lead character was gay, then later he's having annoynmous sex with a guy he picks up (or did he? - who can tell?). It was laughable that this character is allowed to jog right through a murder crime scene and is never brought into the police headquarters for questioning when he shows up a numerous murder scenes. But then there really doesn't appear to be a script for this film except when the lead detective shows up. When this detective (a woman for no other reason I could surmise than a female presence was dictated necessary) speaks, it's with a whiny voice (sorry to the community theatre actress portraying the part) and with these hacknied phrases and overwrought emotions.

There is no build up, no emotional connection with the characters. Editing literally "jumps" in places and doesn't follow any sort of logical flow. I think the audience was supposed to see some sort of emotional connection between the lead character and the rough trade guy who later turns out to be the killer, but it was never developed (and sorry if you feel I've given a spoiler there - but if you think this spoiled a perfectly putrid film for you write me and tell me off). There is no logical reason for the characters to do what they do. I am quite sure that someone put there heart and soul into this film. Sadly, they have no experience in screenwriting or directing, or acting, or editing, or sound, or criminology, or police work, or San Francisco, or Germany. I know absolutely nothing about Nuclear Physics - therefore, according to these filmmakers - I am highly qualified to develop and create a film on that very subject.

There have been some truly good films that featured gay characters and were made by gay filmmakers. This is definitely not one of them. Back in the 70's there were films known as "Blacksploitation" films because they were created and starred blacks for no reason than to cater to the black audience. Are the films of Wolf Video "Homosploitation" films?

Listen - don't bother! This film is horrible horrible horrible. There is no point in bothering. Instead just drive nails into your skull. It will make far more sense and be much more satisfying.

Let me start by saying something nice: Tom Wlaschiha, the film's lead, valiantly held his own in this muddled bit of tripe. Wlaschiha was not just up against the fact that he was having to perform in English, which is not his native language, but some of the worst writing, directing, editing and acting from the supporting cast (actually, calling them supporting is a contradiction of terms!) that the film industry has ever put in the can.

The list of what's wrong with the film is actually much too long to analyze completely here, but it's starts with the lame attempt to force a modern-day, urban story into an opera plot - how many times will film makers try this, before they realize that it's silly at best? Trying to link Puccini's Turandot with a murderous cover-up conspiracy of the theory that the US government was doing testing with the HIV virus that had been found in sheep on prison inmates is akin to linking Queen's song "We are the Champions" to the Watergate cover-up...in other words: hammering a square peg into a round hole. The only conspiracy that seemed to be going on was the fact that everyone in San Francisco, where the film is set, seemed to know this opera by heart, breaking into its catchy tunes at a drop of a hat. When the Italian tenor breaks into "Nessun Dorma" at the end of an opening night party, simply because some guy tells him that his performance was good, I rolled off my couch laughing! This only topped by the fact that the serial killers hums the ditty while killing his HIV+ victims.

The idea of using this theory as a cover-up conspiracy plot is not the problem here. In the hands of a good writer and director, this could actually make a thrilling plot along the lines of "JFK". Jochen Hick, who wrote, directed and produced the film (probably sewed the costumes, too), didn't seem to know if he wanted to make this a crime/thriller, or a character study of his lead character. Ultimately, he tried both and failed at both, ending up making just about every mistake a writer, as well as a director, could make - this all in just 104 minutes!

One thing I have to give Hick credit for: as much as I wanted to turn the damn DVD player off, I watched this baby to the bitter end, but please don't take that as a recommendation to do the same!

A film that every film school should use as a glowing example of: „don't let this happen to you!"

It was a good premise--a German researcher investigates his scientist father's claim of the origin of AIDS, but witnesses he tracks down turn up murdered before he can question them. The urban legend about the U.S. government creating the AIDS virus during biological weapons research could have made for a great paranoid thriller. But this dull, confusing mess never gave it a chance. The script is loaded with lapses of logic and coherence. How is it that the main character is allowed to wander onto crime scenes by the police, for example? The editing is so choppy that you often don't know that the protagonist's motives for his actions are until they're played out. The production is so cheap it looks like it was filmed on skid row. The acting is poor too--in the most intense scenes, the hero looks like he's forgotten a phone number. Also, what's with the repeated references to some Italian opera? To point out the obvious, the government would never use an opera as a basis to conceal evidence. It's infuriating to think of what Alfred Hitchcock could have done with this story. Instead, the most memorable thing about this movie is how misleading it's title is. I stayed awake with effort.

Oh yes, this film has some problems. The base plot of a German man doing research on the cause of the Aids virus who then gets sidetracked by some loosely related murders is fine. What goes wrong is the plot takes so many false turns. Opens doors that go no where and makes leaps that seem like poor editing (or writing) that it is easy to get lost. To further confuse us, the main character gets involved with a dangerous type that has some never explained ties to the whole issue he is researching and perhaps even the murders.

This film simply tries to do too much. Watch it with that in mind and it will be okay. Trivia! The lead female detective has the most annoying voice I have ever heard. Like nails on a blackboard.

This is an excellent film. Period. Those who did not understand all the subtle undercurrents between the characters and did not appreciate the fact that the movie combines suspense, tension, drama, and romance, either prefer films that push everything in your face (like most of Hollywood's releases), or they began watching the movie with a pre-conceived notion that they wouldn't like it (possibly because of the other reviews here).

I am a fan of Indie movies and other venues that challenge the viewer to use the grey matter between their ears. If you also prefer to think for yourself, rather than be thought for, you will probably enjoy this movie as well.

Tom Wlaschiha gives a believable, realistic, sensual performance, and the other major characters behave like real people, rather than characters reading from a script. Perhaps a few scenes are a bit over the top, but then, so is real life from time to time. If the viewer doesn't recognize that, then I suggest that instead of bad-mouthing this movie, he or she should get a life of their own, provided they can tear themselves away from the WWF long enough.