Brother of Sleep

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Brother of Sleep

R

1995

2h 8m

Drama

Romance

Musical

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Relationships with a woman (Dana Vavrova) and an adoring friend (Ben Becker) overwhelm a 19th-century Austrian peasant (Andre Eisermann), a musical genius.

Globe and Mail

Rated: 3/4

Apr 12, 2002

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Rob Nelson

Boston Phoenix

The film's real pleasure isn't its humor so much as its overall excess, the tone it projects of several major chords being struck at once.

Sep 5, 2009

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

It's Wagnerian without reaching any romantic intimacy or the mythology of the Ring Cycle.

Rated: C+

Feb 19, 2004

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Carol Cling

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Rated: 2/5

Aug 22, 2003

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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

Visually stunning and dramatically absorbing portrait of a tormented musical genius.

Aug 29, 2002

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James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Audience Member

Visually stunning but indecisive in its narration. The film never really reaches its peak.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Audience Member

although a a little uneven at times, this is a very unique and hypnotic film

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

Amazing, extraordinary, unforgettable.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

"Schlafes Bruder" is one of my most favourite novels and the movie is just as amazing. The actors are intense! It is about Elias, born in a mountain village in the 19th century, which were pretty much isolated from the outside world (hence the inbreed-problem depicted here). Born into this miserable life it is only the singsong of the midwife that convinces him to breathe and live. Although musical education is completely absent there he soon turns out to be a musical genius and is experiencing a painfull transformation which improves his sense of hearing even more. But he's neither given the chance to tap his full potential nor marry his love Elsbeth much due to the misanthropic environment he was born into. Believing that someone who loves must not sleep he dies of sleep deprivation and the consequences of usage of natural drugs such as fly agaric, because he hoped they would keep him awake.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great looking German film, with lovely touches (open incest, WONDERFUL organ music, the set design) and a confused plotline.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

vilsmaier for president

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

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Joseph Vilsmaier

Director

Andre Eisermann

Elias

Dana Vavrova

Elsbeth

Ben Becker

Peter

Angelika Bartsch

Burga

Michael Mendl

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Synopsis

Relationships with a woman (Dana Vavrova) and an adoring friend (Ben Becker) overwhelm a 19th-century Austrian peasant (Andre Eisermann), a musical genius.

Director: Joseph Vilsmaier
Producer: Joseph Vilsmaier
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Romance, Musical
Original Language: German
Box Office (Gross USA): $8.9K
Runtime: 2h 8m
Sound Mix: Surround