The Sleeping Dictionary

Infobox_Film
name =The Sleeping Dictionary

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caption =IMDB Rating|3.5|5 6.4/10 (1,157 votes)
imdb_id =0242888
writer =Guy Jenkin
starring = Hugh Dancy - John Truscott
Jessica Alba - Selima
Bob Hoskins - Henry Bullard
Brenda Blethyn - Aggie Bullard
Emily Mortimer - Cecilia Bullard
Noah Taylor - Neville Shipperly
Eugene Salleh - Belansai
Junix Nocian - Famous
released =2003
runtime =109 min.
language =English

"The Sleeping Dictionary" is a 2003 film by Guy Jenkin. It was filmed in Sarawak and is set during the British colonial rule in the 1930s.

Plot

A young and naive Englishman, John Truscott (Hugh Dancy), goes to the British colony of Sarawak, Borneo to try and apply his father's work to the Iban society. He tries to civilize them, building schools and providing education for the Iban people. He is met with unfamiliar local customs. Selima (Jessica Alba) becomes his "sleeping dictionary," who sleeps with him and teaches him the language and the habits of the locals. Despite their intents, the two find themselves falling into a forbidden love.

Historical inaccuracies

This movie contains some historical inaccuracies and doesn't show the Iban in the true light, although admittedly some historical "factions" (half-fact/half-fiction) did exist. It is a well known factFact|date=August 2008 that the Ibans did actually practice the art of "ngayap" which meant male youths were encouraged to court Iban maidens openly and with the permission of the elders in the longhouse.

It was also true that Iban maidens as "sleeping dictionaries" did exist, and to this day, there are in fact many prominent Eurasians in local Borneo society who are living proof of that practice.

Also, this film was set when the third British White Rajah, Charles Vyner Brooke, was on the throne in Sarawak. Sarawak was not actually a British colony at this time, and did not become one until after the Second World War when the Third Rajah abdicated.

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242888/ The Sleeping Dictionary] at IMDb