House of the Sleeping Beauties
| The House of the Sleeping Beauties | |
|---|---|
| Das Haus der schlafenden Schönen | |
| Directed by | Vadim Glowna |
| Screenplay by | Vadim Glowna |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Ciro Cappellari |
| Edited by | Charles Lézin |
| Music by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
The House of Sleeping Beauties is a German drama feature film starring and directed by Vadim Glowna.[2] Released in 2006, the film is the third film adaptation of the 1961 novella The House of the Sleeping Beauties[3] (眠れる美女, Nemureru Bijo) by Japanese Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata. Other leading cast are Maximilian Schell and Angela Winkler.[3]
Plot
Fifteen years after Edmond's wife and daughter are killed in a terrible car crash,[4] the "wealthy businessman in his late 60's"[5] assumes it was suicide and blames himself for their deaths. Attempting to help the lonely Edmond out of depression, his friend Kogi recommends the House of the Sleeping Beauties, a type of brothel[6] with strict rules: no rape, no contact with awake women, and no questions.
Edmond visits the club with increasing frequency, spending night after night next to different beautiful drugged women. He touches them, caresses them, even licks them, which arouses him but never truly satisfying for him. He talks to the sleeping women about death and about women in general, primarily about his mother.[7] As Edmond's addiction to the place grows, so does his desire to break the rules. Then he happens to notice a corpse being removed from the brothel.[7]
Cast
- Vadim Glowna – Edmond
- Maximilian Schell – Kogi
- Angela Winkler – Madame
- Birol Ünel – Mr. Gold[3]
- Mona Glass – Secretary[3]
- Marina Weis – Maid
- Benjamin Cabuk – Singer
- Peter Luppa – Preacher
- Benjamin Seidel – Benni
- Maxime Foerste – Maxime
- Jaqueline le Saunier – Girl 1
- Babet Mader – Girl 2
- Maria Burghardt – Girl 3
- Linda Elsner – Girl 4
- Sarah Swenshon – Girl 5
- Isabelle Wackers – Girl 6
Reception
The film received positive comments regarding its tone, scenery, and music soundtrack.[1] However, its overall reception was mixed at best. Maximilian Schell's performance was praised, but in the US, the film was reviewed mostly poorly.[3] As of 2025, the film has a Metascore of 21, with only one critic in the list, Vincent Musetto from the New York Post, giving a positive review[8] for its "deeper purpose as — in the words of the director, Vadim Glowna — a meditation on 'transition, remembrance, mourning, guilt, loneliness, sex and death, eroticism and dying.'"[7] However, the paltry four user ratings are universally positive, scoring 10/10.[8] Although The New York Times critic Jeannette Catsoulis disliked the film, she admitted scenes were "seductively filmed" and was "creepily mesmerizing",[3] and critic Alan C. Stone of Big Picture Big Sound agrees with her assessment. Despite a negative overall assessment, Stone praised the production as "artfully made," noting that several sequences were "visually stunning."[5] Frank Sheck at The Hollywood Reporter characterized the film as "one of those self-consciously atmospheric literary adaptations that suffer from a surfeit of symbolism and pretentiousness" that also is "even less successful [in its] brief foray into thriller territory".[6] Roger Ebert considered the film "repugnant" and had a difficult time believing the protagonist can be so lonely and depressed but also the head of a large corporation.[4][9] Vadim Rizov at The Village Voice considered the film "one of [that] year’s worst releases."[10]
Honors and awards
The House of Sleeping Beauties was shortlisted with six other films for Germany's Oscar candidate for 2007,[2][11] but it lost to The Edge of Heaven.[12]
References
- ^ a b Kriest, Ulrich. "Das Haus der schlafenden Schönen" [The House of the Sleeping Beauties]. Filmdienst (in German). Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2025 – via Filmzentrale.com.
- ^ a b "Best Foreign Language Film". german-films.de (in German). 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Catsoulis, Jeannette (13 November 2008). "Movie Review 'House of the Sleeping Beauties': Lonely Old Men and Drugged Young Virgins". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Ebert, Roger (9 January 2009). "At least they don't snore". Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b Stone, Alan C. (13 November 2008). "House of the Sleeping Beauties Review". Big Picture Big Sound. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b Scheck, Frank (12 November 2008). "House of Sleeping Beauties". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b c Musetto, V.A. (14 November 2008). "They'll Sleep With You for Cash – Literally". New York Post. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b "The House of Sleeping Beauties". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ Campbell, Scott (14 October 2025). "The 'repugnant' erotic drama that made Roger Ebert feel unclean: 'An intensely depressing experience'". Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ Rizov, Vadim (12 November 2008). "Vadim Glowna's Laborious House of the Sleeping Beauties". The Village Voice. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ "Oscar competition 'Best Foreign Language Film'". filmportal.de. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ "'Auf der anderen Seite' im Oscar-Rennen: NDR gratuliert Fatih Akin" ['The Edge of Heaven' in the Oscar race: NDR congratulates Fatih Akin] (Press release) (in German). 19 September 2007. Archived from the original on 4 May 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2025.