Alain Platel: Nicht Schlafen

2016 • Directed by

Alain Platel

A group of men gathers around some dead horses to perform a ritual. Summarized in one sentence like this, "nicht schlafen" might retain the semblance of a story. But everything instantly contradicts this notion. The area of the archaic cult is bounded by a giant blanket. And amongst the men there is one woman. Is this the staging of a new Rite of Spring? Will a woman be sacrificed once more to atone for failing masculinity?