The Insomniac - Rodney Giesler (1971)

A very odd film. In many ways it plays up to many of the renowned English quirks. The idyllic country life versus the encroaching industrial city hustle and bustle. As one man's delusions brought on by the aformentioned insomnia increase, the boundaries between fact and fiction dissolve making it impossible to know which is which. If you've got sharp eyes you'll notice quite quickly but it's such an interesting mélange, that you're keen to see where it will lead next. It's interesting how the man's children are still living under the illusion of childlike wonder that the dingy high rise appartment they live in could give way to a glorious countryside full of valleys and glens when really they just have a standard playground outside. But more often than not, they, and more importantly us and the man, are more interested when we lose all perception of reality and give into this desire for a greener landscape.

It really leaves the viewer off balanced because it has all the elements of a modern action-flick in some respects; car chases, a brief sexual fling and one man against a gang of men who bizarrely prefer to keep their sunglasses on at all times as if to shield themselves from the reality that's been created. And yet, you're still left baffled by the events and the consequences that will happen in the character's future.

At 44 minutes it's fairly short but it feels like their could have been much more to explore out of this.