I Can't Sleep

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I Can't Sleep ★★ J'ai Pas Sommeil 1993

Serial killers, French style. Gay, black Camille (Courcet), an immigrant from Martinique, and his white lover Raphael (Dupont) live in a Paris hotel and murder elderly women. Though they also rob them, the motive for their horrific crimes is vague (seemingly even to themselves). Not much actually happens—Camille visits his brother, who longs to return home, and their status as outsiders is juxtaposed against another immigrant, Daiga (Golu beva) from Lithuania, who takes little interest in the crimes but unwittingly crosses paths with Camille. Atmospheric if nothing else. Based on the 1987 “Granny Killer” slayings of 20 women. French with subti tles. 110m/C VHS, DVD . FR Richard Courcet, Vincent Dupont, Yekaterina (Katia) Golubeva, Alex Descas, Beatrice Dalle, Laurent Grevill; D: Claire Denis; W: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau; C: Agnes Godard; M: Jean Murat.