Sleepwalking in the Rift is a clichéd story of boy meets girl. Pinned against a breathtaking natural backdrop it unearths age old questions of what it is that matters and why we do what we do. Clothing brand Maiyet commissioned director Cary Fukunaga to create the fashion film that flops as such due to attention being directed to the storyline and surroundings rather than the clothes themselves. Despite failing in its intentions, the piece is so aesthetically beautiful and the story enchanting enough to allow it stand alone as a film piece as opposed to a fashion promotion.
He is the guide and the teacher. In Africa, he knows who he is and why he is there. From the outside, it seems he has it all figured out. “You seem happy,” she says to him. Three words stemming from mere observation that equate to one of the most intimate questions a person can be asked. He doesn’t stumble or look too deeply. His answer is simple, “there is nothing I need”. This man encompasses humans’ desire for life. A stripped life, free from the scars of the consumerist world we inhabit. We want to need nothing and too often we expect to find this in money and wealth, when in fact in order to need nothing we need to have close to that.
Headspinningly beautiful in terms of both subject matter and visuals, Sleepwalking in the Rift is worthy of the feature length it defies.
