How far would you go for your family?
Seventeen-year-old Natsume lives without any of the luxuries of normal teenagers in Japan.
Instead she sleeps in a camper van under a bridge with her mother, who cannot speak and an invalid grandfather whose nappy she has to change.
That is far from the end of the indignities which Natsume (Mariko Hirano) tolerates.
Every day she drags her grandfather up a flight of stairs so she can bathe him and herself.
Oh, I nearly forgot - to earn money she goes with her mother when the latter gives 'massages' with extras.
It's a pitiful yet stoic life which has all been brought about by the rape of her mother when she was just 15.
Katsumi Sakaguchi's film spares no detail. Nudity, often taken for granted in Japanese movies, is present almost from the start and may rankle British sensitivities (Hirano really doesn't look very old and to see her in the bath with an old man, albeit innocently, will seem too much to many).
There are also two rape scenes which are mighty unpleasant.
On the whole, it has to be said that Sleep is pretty slow and repetitive - but this is done for the effect of emphasising Natsume and her family's tortured existence.
Hirano takes the lead role with considerable maturity. One can feel the depth of her family responsibilities.
And the film does slowly build into a couple of big plot turns which help it rise above the average.
It is the first of my season of Japanese films which have been kindly sent to me by Douglas Robertson at the Japan Foundation in London.
The season, entitled Whose Film Is It Anyway, is touring the UK and will be seen in London, Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nottingham and Sheffield.
As for this film:
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: more scenes than I could count.
Overall rating: 6/10
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