Review of Sleep Dealer (2008) by Misty S — 15 Apr 2009

Worth seeing: An unsettling, low budget, sci-fi story directed by young Mexican director Alex Rivera. The special effects may not be mind-blowing, but the narrative is inventive as it explores serious political messages that transcend most modern sci-fi films.

Here we have humans retreating from reality through computer software that connects to their conscious minds. So what's new? Rivera turns the page. In "Sleep Dealer," the technology isn't used to transport us to new "virtual" thrills; it is used by people to earn their living by controlling robots performing manual work in the US.

Rivera explores important issues using the sci-fi genre: Immigration, exploitation, corporate ownership of natural resources...and more. I predict that we will see and appreciate more from Alex Rivera.