Aegri Somnia
2009 – Feature Film – 90 min
Directed by: James Rewucki – Produced by: Absurd Machine Films
Aegri Somnia is a Kafka-esque psychological thriller driven by strong visuals, dynamic performances and a complex and disturbing soundtrack. The film centers on the tormented mental state of Edgar, a loner who is disturbed by the sudden death of his controlling wife. Edgar's reality unravels as he is haunted by vivid hallucinations and surrounded by a faceless city threatening to swallow him whole. The bulk of the film is spent exploring Edgar's dreams and hallucinations until, like Edgar, the film itself becomes consumed by those dreams and Edgar is left with a choice: prison or paradise.
"...It’s like a slow bleed out of madness, against a city of stark images, where everything looks haunted and stricken, and complicit. The film’s strength is absolutely in its look, every frame is as deliberate as a piece of art. The look is reminiscent of a graphic novel, the dizzying angles, the motivated frames, every shot one that counts, the viewer a voyeur in on a conspiracy. Even the bloody scenes have an element of dream to them, as though being experienced just outside the Now, a keen memory, but a memory, the distance necessary and created, as if for our own safety. As the film drips slowly into the caustic ending, the images grow more horrible, more frightening, every one of them suitable for framing. " - Susie Maloney, Author of "The Dwelling"
See Aegri Somnia Here