Requiem for Sleep — CINEMA CLASSICS

Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans

“Requiem for a Dream” is the second feature film by Darren Aronofsky, based on the novel by the legendary American writer, Hubert Selby Jr. A quarter of a century ago, it came to Poland thanks to the distribution of Gutek Film and became so deeply embedded in our pop culture that it became an extremely important cultural text, cited by writers, theater makers and rappers.

The young actors at the time - Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans - hit the Hollywood top overnight, Ellen Burstyn's mesmerizing performance earned her an Oscar nomination, and the director himself proved himself a visionary of cinema. Now, 25 years after its release, the film returns to cinemas in a restored 4K version.

“Requiem for Sleep” is a harrowing tale of four Brooklyn heroes who, in pursuit of their dreams, make a journey deep into the hell of addiction. For drug dealer Harry (Leto), his diet pill-addicted mother (Burstyn), addicted girlfriend (Connelly), and best friend (Wayans), escaping reality ends in tragedy. Unable to cope with the chaos of the modern world around them, each of them falls into addiction — to drugs, sweets or television. “Requiem for a Dream” is a hypnotic story about the longing for love, living in illusion and lies, and the trap of addiction.

The on-screen drama of the characters is rounded off by Clint Mansell's brilliant, brain-riddling soundtrack performed by Kronos Quartet. The Lux Aeterna theme is a musical classic, mercilessly reworked and sampled to this day. And “Requiem for Sleep” itself, viewed years later, still funds viewers with a shocking, emotional rollercoaster, after which it is difficult to recover.