A Museum Sleeps

A tragic romance delivered in a more experimental package. It's not that A Museum Sleeps challenges all existing conventions of cinema, it's a film that wears its experimental moniker in a more formal sense, but people expecting a fully traditional narrative should do well to check their expectations. Mainstream cinema this is clearly not.

Ornicar and Chloe are in a passionate relationship, but Ornicar feels restless. He loves Chloe dearly, but he struggles to feel at ease with himself. So he tells Chloe he'll leave for a year, and he'll be back for her exactly one year later. When Ornicar returns, Chloe is nowhere to be found. Desperate, Ornicar starts his quest to find out what happened to her.

A nervous piano score and a 4:3 aspect ratio betray the film's arthouse influences. I didn't mind the score so much, but don't get the fascination with 4:3. I quite liked the performances and I felt the romance worked well, seeing how the tragic aspect of their relationship really hit home during the finale. A pleasant film, but it could've pushed a few more boundaries.