No One Sleeps

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

The plot line of No One Sleeps is not a bad idea, and the subject matter is of quite a bit of interest. But, throughout watching this film, we were saying aloud, "These filmmakers go to the trouble of finding good locations, the lighting is good, makeup and hair are good...why is the sound so bad?" Throughout the film the sound was echoy, garbled and much of the dialog was unintelligible.

There is some good acting in this film, and I think Jim Thalman is really a good actor. This story, with some of the same actors, would have been worth doing as a high-budget film.

I just can't reiterate enough - if you have a limited budget, dedicate more to good sound. Sound is as much a part of a film as the image, and it's worth doing right. Could've earned a 6.

The plot is simply too convoluted to describe with any effectiveness (I figure, hey...if the writer didn't care enough to create a good script, why should I have to care about writing a good synopsis)? It seems as though this film were intentionally trying to fill some kind of affirmative-action quota fantasy; the lead detective characters are of course a tough, elderly Jewish lesbian and a strong black woman. Add in an evil corporation, government conspiracy, anti-Christian bigotry and well, you got yourself a steamy pile of celluloid that no one has ever heard about, let alone watched. Oddly, the lead character, Tom Wlaschiha, is known more for his side-character in "The Game of Thrones"...I would never have possibly imagined him carrying a lead role in any movie (and this is proof why he shouldn't). Just...no.

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.

"No One Sleeps" is perhaps the worst film I have ever seen. Looking past the extremely poor acting, shockingly poor (and often hilarious) screenplay, incredibly cheap and uninteresting cinematography and terribly generic serial killer plot, Mr. Hicks' film is obsessed with the morbid, tawdry parts of gay life - which is fine - but he never makes any kind of comment or statement on them. So what's the point? The use of Turandot throughout is so forced (and so annoying) that it becomes laughable. Really mind boggling how stupid this one was. Honestly, some of the worst acting I've ever seen projected on a screen - one wonders, however, whether to blame the actors or the piss-poor lines they've been given. Tom Wlaschiha, as the lead, does have his moments ... but they are rather few. I'm sure there are those who would defend this film by hiding behind its (obviously) small budget - but watch it and you'll know that's no excuse.