• Genres: Drama, History, Romance
• Plot Synopsis: An eager young Englishman is dispatched to Sarawak to become part of the British colonial government, encounters some unorthodox local traditions, and finds himself faced with tough decisions of the heart involving the beautiful young Selima, the unwitting object of his affections.
• Plot Keywords: First Time Sex | Native American | English | Ant | Englishman Abroad | Bedroom | Male Virgin | Bracelet | Camera | Sex Lesson | Candle | Tribal Dance
• Actors: Jessica Alba, Brenda Blethyn, Hugh Dancy, Bob Hoskins, Christopher Ling Lee Ian, See more
• Directors: Guy Jenkin
• Studio: New Line Home Video
• DVD Release Date: February 18, 2003
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• ASIN: B00007LB4B
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,335 in DVD

Editorial Reviews

Don’t let the title fool you: The Sleeping Dictionary is the most seductive argument for foreign-language education a boy ever had. Hugh Dancy is a young and idealistic colonial official posted to Britain’s deep-jungle Sarawak outpost in 1939, and Jessica Alba (Dark Angel) is the “sleeping dictionary,” a sexy tutor who proves that the fastest way to learn a language is through lovemaking. Guy Jenkin trades in old clichés for new ones in his revision of the exotic old melodramas of forbidden love between handsome colonial men and gorgeous, guileless native girls. Alba’s accent slips and slides but she’s a sweet, sexy, and beguiling presence, while Bob Hoskins and Brenda Blethyn uphold the all-important appearance of British morality. If you can overlook the contrivances, it makes for a lush romantic fantasy about the triumph of love over the hypocrisy of so-called civilized society. –Sean Axmaker

Product Description

A sexy and comic love story, set in the 1920s, about an idealistic young British colonial officer who arrives in a remote jungle outpost to find himself assigned a local beauty to sleep with him and teach him the language.