Sleeping Sickness (film)
Encyclopedia
Sleeping Sickness is a 2011 German drama film, directed by Ulrich Köhler. It premiered in competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival
, where Köhler won the Silver Bear for Best Director
.
The film then skips three years into the future where a French inspector from the World Health Organization
pays a visit to assess the programme. Before he reaches the clinic there is friction with local people because he is very alert of the danger of paying too much or being robbed. When he arrives at the clinic, the inspector needs to talk to Velten to assess the project, but he is nowhere to be found. A woman at the clinic starts to give birth, and he starts to perform a caesarean section
because no other doctor is around, but is unable to cope with the pressure as he has never done one before. Velten arrives just in time to perform the operation and deliver the baby. It transpires that Velten's wife and daughter have moved back to Europe without him, and that he has started a relationship with the local woman who gave birth (the baby was his). Velten takes the inspector to see clinics testing for sleeping sickness, but no cases are reported. Velten takes the inspector to see a business venture on the marshes.
Later Velten takes the inspector hunting in the bush at night with his acquantaince and a guide. The acquantaince has an argument with Velten, and then leaves and goes back to town. Velten and the guide continue hunting while the inspector sleeps. He is woken by a gunshot and soon sees the guide coming towards him, who takes him to the river before leaving. He sleeps there for the rest of the night and is then picked up by the guide in a boat. It is unclear what has happened to Velten, but it is assumed that he is dead. After the boat leaves a hippopotamus
emerges from the jungle, which may have played some part in his death.
61st Berlin International Film Festival
The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to February 20, 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film True Grit opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total during the event, to 20,000 attendees from 116...
, where Köhler won the Silver Bear for Best Director
Silver Bear for Best Director
The Silver Bear for Best Director is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for best achievement in direction.-Awards:-Repeated winners:*Mario Monicelli *Satyajit Ray *Carlos Saura -External links:*...
.
Plot
Ebbo Velten works in Africa in a project for treating sleeping sickness patients with his wife and daughter. Compared with the level of financial aid from Europe there are few patients. The family is preparing to move back to Europe but he is having second thoughts, and his acquantaince tries to convince him to stay.The film then skips three years into the future where a French inspector from the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
pays a visit to assess the programme. Before he reaches the clinic there is friction with local people because he is very alert of the danger of paying too much or being robbed. When he arrives at the clinic, the inspector needs to talk to Velten to assess the project, but he is nowhere to be found. A woman at the clinic starts to give birth, and he starts to perform a caesarean section
Caesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
because no other doctor is around, but is unable to cope with the pressure as he has never done one before. Velten arrives just in time to perform the operation and deliver the baby. It transpires that Velten's wife and daughter have moved back to Europe without him, and that he has started a relationship with the local woman who gave birth (the baby was his). Velten takes the inspector to see clinics testing for sleeping sickness, but no cases are reported. Velten takes the inspector to see a business venture on the marshes.
Later Velten takes the inspector hunting in the bush at night with his acquantaince and a guide. The acquantaince has an argument with Velten, and then leaves and goes back to town. Velten and the guide continue hunting while the inspector sleeps. He is woken by a gunshot and soon sees the guide coming towards him, who takes him to the river before leaving. He sleeps there for the rest of the night and is then picked up by the guide in a boat. It is unclear what has happened to Velten, but it is assumed that he is dead. After the boat leaves a hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
emerges from the jungle, which may have played some part in his death.
Cast
- Pierre BokmaPierre BokmaPierre Henri Martin Bokma is an award winning Dutch stage, television and film actor.In November 2007 he won an International Emmy Award for his roll in the movie De uitverkorene...
as Ebbo Velten - Jean-Christophe Folly as Alex Nzila
- Hippolyte GirardotHippolyte GirardotHippolyte Girardot is a French actor.He is not related to the actress Annie Girardot.-Selected filmography:* 1973: La Femme de Jean, directed by Yannick Bellon, Rémi...
as Gaspard Signac - Sava Lolov as Elia Todorov
- Maria Elise Miller as Helen Velten
- Francis Noukiatchom as Monese
- Ali Mvondo Roland as Ruhemba
- Jenny Schily as Vera Velten
- Isacar Yinkou as Joseph