Sleep demands a comforted body, a quieted mind and enough fatigue to readily surrender consciousness. I admit that, as much as I enjoy movies, I have fallen asleep in many of my favorites. I‘ve dozed for at least a few minutes every time I’ve watched “Sans Soleil.” I wouldn’t be surprised if that was Chris Marker’s intention.
The best movies take on a dream like quality, and it’s pleasurable to re-enter them from a nap without certainty how long I’ve been out. I tend to have lucid dreams that I can manipulate, a skill I developed, perhaps, to guard against the mild nightmare I have regularly. My dreams are not filled with horror, just endless frustration. I never attain any goals in my dreams.
Sometimes I wonder if I wake up with the attitudes of my dreams, that my fondest desires will never be attained. Do I turn my life into a lucid dream, allowing the story to play out, then reminding myself that it’s ok if it’s all out of reach. It’s only a dream.