Sleep Dealer (shown at BAM) deals with much larger issues than sleep. In fact, sleep is only mentioned in passing amidst the futuristic setting of a globalized, high-tech world economy. As director Alex Rivera’s first feature film, his history with documentaries and short non-fiction enhanced the movie’s tone as a socioeconomic commentary rather than a heart-wrenching tale of character plight. In an attempt to reach ‘science-geeks’ with Star Wars-esque themes of Americana, Rivera fused the themes of an old Western, a sci-fi movie, and a politicized documentary for an overall message of a frightening future.

After working on the film for ten years (raising money for two, thinking and filming for eight), the brainstorming of a decade still shows a great deal of forward thinking. How could Rivera and his team predict that their visions would remain current? As Rivera explained in a Q and A session, it was “Magical Marxism.” Like magical realism, magical Marxism as defined by Rivera is the root of the story, because “the guts of the ideas are true.” Truth and oppression are timeless themes throughout the film.

Sleep Dealer contains an overwhelming menagerie of themes. Rivera infused his film with a meager character plot to make his allusions stand out more. Memo Cruz is a migrant from Santa Ana, Mexico, who goes to Tijuana to find a female friend named Luz. There are a few other often-depicted characters, yet the plotline feels like an insert rather than a fluid tie-in. Memo is stereotypical, and Luz is clearly a device to illuminate the world Tijuana rather than vice versa.

People are filmed with close-ups and uncomfortably physical needle and wire shots, showcasing their bodies more than their humanity. The ideas are meaningful, but the people are not. However, the cinematography and the grand-scale ideology still manage to speak through the film, if not each character’s individuality.