Lucio (Luis Machín) in Asleep in the Sun.
Burning dreams
By Miranda Inganni
Director Alejandro Chomski's feature film, Asleep in the Sun (Dormir Al Sol), begins with a doggie-eye-view sequence of what turns out to be a Jack Russell Terrier delivering an envelope. While we have no idea what possesses this postal pup, he is clearly a dog on a mission. The recipient opens the letter and starts reading. And the story begins.
Set in 1950s Argentina, Lucio (Luis Machín), a watchmaker, and his not-so-happy homemaker wife, Diana (Esther Goris), enjoy a birthday dinner for Lucio. In addition to the family, there is an extra guest participating in the festivities: local pet shop owner "Professor" Standle (Enrique Piñeyro), a mysterious if not nefarious figure.
While Lucio and Diana are very much in love with each other, she suffers from a mild nervous disorder, pushing her away from her husband and toward the dogs at the Standle's shop. She is a woman possessed by the pooches. Standle points out to Lucio that his wife is clearly abnormal -- she spends time away from the house, she is incapable of bearing children, she visits with the dogs all day – and suggests she seek treatment at a phrenopathic clinic where "they get right to the point" on curing such disorders. Much against his better wishes, but at his wife's (and Stendle's) urging, Diana agrees to enter the facility. What follows is an absurd and charming story of misunderstanding, mistaken identities, missing brain matter and mystery.
Based on a story by Adolfo Bioy Casares, Asleep in the Sun is bizarre and silly, and very much like an episode from The Twilight Zone -- multi-layered, a love story and a thriller as well as a cautionary tale of blindly following the pack.
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