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These are the films Lionel Barrymore counts down as a celebration of MGM's Silver Anniversary: 1924-The Big Parade, 1925-The Merry Widow, 1926-Flesh and the Devil, 1927-Ben Hur, 1928- Tell It To The Marines, 1929-The Broadway Melody, 1930-Min and Bill, 1931-Trader Horn, 1932-Grand Hotel, 1933-Tugboat Annie, 1934-Dinner at Eight, 1935-Mutiny on the Bounty, 1936-San Francisco, 1937-The Good Earth, 1938-Boys Town, 1939-The Wizard of Oz, 1940- Boom Town, 1941-The Philadelphia Story, 1942-Mrs. Miniver, 1943-Randon Harvest, 1944- National Velvet, 1945-Meet Me In St. Louis, 1946-The Green Years, 1947-The Yearling, 1948- Easter Parade

This is not a feature film, but a collection of 10 shorts. The total running time is 70 minutes. All except the first are in French with English subtitles. All are either directly or obliquely (sometimes very obliquely indeed) about AIDS. None are exceptional. I have been known to enjoy DVD collections of short gay-themed films. If some of them are not very good, at least I enjoy the different perspectives that filmmakers bring in their examination of what it means to lead a gay life. For me, none of these films was remotely interesting. If you are looking for some smart, sexy, French short films, rent the collection of François Ozon's short films that has been released to DVD.

One has to wonder if at any point in the production of this film a

script existed that made any sense. Was the rough cut 3 hours

long and was it trimmed into the incoherent mess that survives?

Why would anyone finance this mess? I will say that Tom

Wlaschiha is a good looking young man and he does what he can

with the dialogue and dramatic (?) situations he is given. But

characters come and go for no apparent reason, continuity is

non-existent, and the acting, cinematography, and direction are (to

put it politely) amateurish. Not One Sleeps is an unfortunate

choice of title as it will probably prove untrue should anyone

actually attempt to actually watch this film.