From beneath a pile of covers, a man grunts repeatedly and sits up in bed. "Mama mia", we hear in-between the grunts as he slips into a white bathrobe.
We watch as he shuffles into the bathroom to perform a series of comical facial exercises to make sure everything is still in working order and washes his face. The man is Henry Miller.
Tom Schiller's short documentary film, Asleep & Awake, takes us on a tour of the bathroom of the American master and writer, Henry Miller. Famous for its erotic content, it also housed photos of the Buddha from around the world, as well as photos of painters, writers, philosophers, and, of course, beautiful women. Many beautiful women.
Through each photo, Miller recollects and shares memories from his long and fruitful life, discussing his dreams and nightmares and stories from other writers, including Blaise Cendrars (L'Or and Junichiro Tanizaki (The Key and Diary of a Mad Old Man.)
The film ends in a Hollywood-like set (or so it seems) made to look like Brooklyn, where Miller talks about his life growing up in what he calls, "the ugliest, filthiest, shittiest city in the world."
My only complaint: not nearly long enough.
Running time: 35 minutes
Director: Tom Schiller
Article comments
1 - Gigohead
There is actually a portion about this film in the new book about Tom Schiller called "Nothing Lost Forever: the films of Tom Schiller" by Michael Streeter. Anyone curious enough to learn more about this film should pick up the book. www.nothinglostforever.com