# The Sleeping Dictionary (2003)

> In colonial Borneo, a young British language learner risks everything for a forbidden relationship with the Iban woman assigned to teach him.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/15465

## Facts

- Runtime: 109 min
- Genres: Drama, Romance
- Director: Guy Jenkin
- Cast: Jessica Alba, Brenda Blethyn, Hugh Dancy, Bob Hoskins, Junix Inocian, Mano Maniam, K.K. Moggie, Emily Mortimer
- TMDB rating: 6.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242888/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Mood: romantic, intimate, foreboding, romantic drama night, period film viewing

## Movies like The Sleeping Dictionary

- [Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)](https://ember.film/movie/36721)
- [The World Unseen (2007)](https://ember.film/movie/19343)
- [The Lover (1992)](https://ember.film/movie/6024)
- [Ae Fond Kiss... (2004)](https://ember.film/movie/936)
- [Ask the Dust (2006)](https://ember.film/movie/1333)
- [Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1997)](https://ember.film/movie/17017)
- [Silk (2007)](https://ember.film/movie/8767)
- [Anna and the King (1999)](https://ember.film/movie/966)
- [Gowok: Javanese Kamasutra (2025)](https://ember.film/movie/7363330)
- [Palm Trees in the Snow (2015)](https://ember.film/movie/161294)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt