Luisa (a charismatic Erica Rivas) is fraught as she tries to deal with the pressures of motherhood and her failure to communicate with her young, sleepwalking and typically petulant adolescent daughter Ana (Ornella D’Elía). Her every move is criticized by her unhelpful husband Emilio (Luis Ziembrowski). She also finds herself overwhelmed by the pressures of his family with all its rigidity and expectations of perfect motherhood. These spill over not only onto her, but also onto her sister-in-law (Valeria Lois) who is suffering from post- natal depression while trying to nurse her new baby. The apparent casual ease of the family covers up tensions that are bubbling underneath, ready to explode, as the matriarch Memé (the wonderful Marilú Marini) announces that she plans to sell the land and the old family house. Past issues rise to the surface and against Luisa’s better judgement she takes her husband’s and family’s advice, permitting her daughter a greater freedom that she would have liked, which leads to devastating consequences.
Marilú Marini as Memé and Erica Rivas as Luisa
Hernández:
“The Sleepwalkers’ emerged from the premise of some questions that arose as a result of my own motherhood, the children’s development and [observing] the ties between my own daughter and the rest of the family… how those ties change when children are brought into the mix… my reference points sprang from an observation of the behaviour of a family … and then of course there is the added fiction that has nothing to do with my personal experience. The film also touched on how to accompany a growing child, while, at the same time, attempting to allow them enough space at that very precise moment in their development on which this film dwells… that very moment in adolescence when you have to begin to face your own world, to differentiate yourself from that family structure and that mother… to discover your own body, that has changed so much since you were an infant… So, from that starting point… these are all the questions that will come to a mother, as[they did] to me, as well as in the way that they emerged when I was a child of the same age as the character of Ana.”
Hernandez’s eye for observation and detail uses everyday elements to explore the invisible and intimate ties between people. Some shots of the young daughter Ana, sleepwalking, with traces of blood from her first period trickling down her leg, are shocking and further worry Luisa, who is aware that she is unable to reach her child emotionally, while also being thwarted at every turn by the unhelpful family. The title echoes the fact that no one is really communicating, they appear to be in a form of denial. Luisa’s husband, Emilio, offers to bankroll the house, rather than have it sold, without even beginning to discuss the implications with his wife. Meanwhile, Ana’s keen efforts to impress her cousins soon reveal she is lost and out of her depth.
The cast is further enhanced by the wonderful screen presence of Uruguayan actor Daniel Hendler (Daniel Burman’s ‘The Lost Embrace’2004) who plays Emilio’s brother Sergio with conviction and a subtle sarcasm. It is an intense drama of family tensions and their destructive power. The mother / daughter link fluctuates, until they finally establish some real trust that leads them to seek a new path.
Hernández admits that, to date ‘The Sleepwalkers’ is her personal favourite, perhaps together with her very latest production, ‘Las Siamesas’ (2020). Despite ‘Herencia’(Inheritance) her 2001 Opera Prima being enormously successful, winning 12 awards and many nominations, Hernández was careful not to remain on a safe and comfortable path. She chose to branch out and experiment with completely different universes and audio-visual challenges. Whereas her earlier productions focussed more on individuals and their existential problems, ‘The Sleepwalkers’ enters a new world for her, where the dynamics of a whole family are explored: -
Hernández: -
“In my first 3 films, I worked on the individual and not on the universe of a family… they were characters that were alone and freer… there is a question about who you are at a specific moment in time and how much you have changed at others. How relevant are the mandates or expectations in what one chooses to do? In the case of this family, the idea of mandates… of certain rituals, of a certain endogamy or certain parameters that are maintained, as if things were rigid and immobile … is something that interested me.”
Paula Hernandez has worked frequently with some of her crew, like her editor Rosario Suárez, who has been her editor of choice for all her productions. She also worked for long periods with Guillermo ‘Bill’ Nieto. However, the demands of different productions led her to choose different cinematographers on some of her later films, in particular for ‘The Sleepwalkers’ and ‘Las Siamesas’ where the DOP was Ivan Gierasinchuk.
Erica Rivas
Hernández: -
“The cast will be different, because it’s so closely linked to the story and the requirements of each project. But I believe in having a crew that gives me ease and peace of mind, where you know each other, as you’re creating something together. I also understand that there are moments when those links have to end, on good terms obviously… to be able to create new outcomes…. I believe in artistic marriages that gradually develop, which has worked out for me. I like working like that. I think that the only person who’s been in absolutely all my productions has been Rosario Suárez. She’s a great editor and we’ve been able to establish a powerful link relative to the material… [It’s special] to have someone who knows you very well, who understands where you’re coming from, who knows when to stimulate you, when to listen and… when to stop listening!”
The Sleepwalkers is currently available on Flow TV. Meanwhile, negotiations are under way to get it onto a well- known streaming service.
The Sleepwalkers (2019)
Writer/Director Paula Hernandez
Prod Paula Hernandez / Juan Pablo Miller
Music Pedro Onetto
DOP Ivan Gierasinchuk
Editor Rosario Suárez
Production design Aili Chen
Sound Martín Grignaschi
Company credits Tarea Fina/ Oriental Films
