Wide Awake (2006)

O An excellent must-see
O Good video rental
X Mediocre
O Rent something else

Review by Jason Pyles / June 15, 2007

Alan Berliner claims to have a problem: insomnia. It’s not that I disbelieve that he’s afflicted with what we might call “problematic sleep habits,” I just don’t think their problematic for him. In fact, I’d say this guy likes being an insomniac.

“Wide Awake” is a documentary about the filmmaker himself. Typically, he gets about three hours of sleep each night (and it’s not always restful sleep). He thrives in the wee hours of the middle of the night. Consequently, he has been exhausted during the daytime for years.

Such a documentary subject sounds rather interesting; but ironically, this film tends to make you sleepy. I got tired just watching Berliner, partially from boredom. But this film is not without interest: Berliner’s supplementary montages rival that of any other filmmaker. He has an uncanny ability to include obscure, relevant footage.

This talent turns out to be one of Berliner’s best eccentricities. He is a collector with unsurpassed talents in cataloguing his treasures. His collections should have been the focus of his documentary. Wow. Then he would have had something truly fascinating to show us.

Instead, Berliner films himself drinking a cup of coffee ... while describing this process.

Directed by Alan Berliner
Alan Berliner / William C. Dement
90 min. Documentary
(No original MPAA rating)
Edited version age recommendation: 8 and up

DVD release date: May 29, 2007
Copyright 2007.
JP0128 : 198