All The World Is Sleeping movie review

MOVIE TITLE: All The World Is Sleeping

This raw and dramatic movie will premiere in select theaters, as well as on digital platforms on March 17, 2023.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 50 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

ALL THE WORLD IS SLEEPING follows Chama (Melissa Barrera), who as a young girl in New Mexico, strived to be different from her mother. Now in her twenties, she’s found herself falling into a similar cycle of generational addiction. This struggle then threatens her balance as a mother to her own daughter. As Chama tries to keep it all together, a harrowing accident will spiral her out of control, causing her daughter to be taken from her custody. With nothing left, she’ll have to confront her past in order to fight for a future — one that can either guide her closer to getting her daughter back or lead her deeper into this dangerous cycle.

The film was written and directed by Ryan Lacen.

In 2017, a reproductive justice-based non-profit, Bold Futures NM, gathered 7 system-impacted women with a history of substance use and pregnancy to create an artistic medium that would explore the complexities of trauma, substance use, and parenting in New Mexico. Over the course of several months and hours of conversation and community building, the insight derived through this facilitated group process evolved into the foundation of an unlikely feature film highlighting characters with authenticity and heart.

This unique film was created with the aim of pushing back against the stigma faced by pregnant women and people living through addiction. ALL THE WORLD IS SLEEPING sheds light on the realities of addiction and the resources that are so desperately needed for families living in cycles of addiction.

This film centers on the complex role of motherhood, addresses generational cycles of addiction, and beautifully highlights a community that is not often represented in films. As a filmmaker whose own life has also been scarred by addiction, Ryan Lacen helped bring a unique cinematic lens while shaping these stories to create a film that would feel both singularly raw and universally connected.

The film’s main character, Chama, played by the talented actress Melissa Barrera, is an imaginative composite of the seven Women that encompasses elements of their bravery and struggles all while exposing the arduous circumstances they have endured. Barrera, along with co-star Jackie Cruz, worked with the mothers on and off set to authentically capture and represent their truth.

Throughout production and post-production, the seven mothers remained an integral part of guiding the film to completion. This film is an extraordinary collaboration merging the worlds of non-profit grit and movie glamour all while working alongside a community eager to see their story represented on the big screen.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

This is NOT appropriate for children.
People talk very ugly to each other
TONS of profanity, including many F-bombs
We see shoplifting
We see a topless woman.
A man talks about being gay.
A woman flips the bird.
Talk of assault
A woman overdoses on drugs and goes to the hospital. Another woman ODs and dies.

THEMES:

Addiction
Choices
Parenting
Hope
Supportive friends and bad influences
Forgiveness
Learning to love yourself

THINGS I LIKED:

I really like Melissa Barrera, so it’s her name on the movie poster that caught my eye. She looks a LOT like my son’s girlfriend too, which I noticed when I first saw her in the musical In The Heights. I loved her in that movie. She does a fantastic job in this movie, although it broke my heart to see her character struggle and make such bad choices. She shows some serious acting chops in this one.
Others in the cast include Jorge Garcia, Jackie Cruz, young Valentina Herrera, Luis Bordonada, and Kristen Gutoskie, among others.
Some of the people in rehab go to White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Very cool.
One of the characters believes that whenever she sees a black feather, it means something bad is going to happen. Have you ever heard of that superstition? I hadn’t.
There are some hard lessons to be learned with some inspirational quotes. (see below)

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

There are a lot of flashbacks that might confuse the timeline for some viewers.
Hopefully, this will serve as a cautionary tale. Unfortunately, those who might be able to learn from this story probably won’t be able to see it.
Because of the heavy content, the movie is too long. I felt drained by the end.
The content is hard and makes you feel like you just spent time living in the gutter.