FAQ for
El maquinista (2004) More at IMDbPro »

The simple answer was that he was a hypochondriac seeing as how he spent hours cleaning everything. The artistic answer was that In the back of his mind he knew he killed the young boy and he metaphorically had blood on his hands he was constantly trying to wash off with the bleach.

Trevor, a machinist, has not slept in a year. Fatigue has led to a shocking deterioration of his physical and mental health. Suspicious of his appearance, Trevor's co-workers first shy away from him, then turn against him after he's involved in a shop accident that costs a man his arm. He has become a liability to himself and others.

Plagued with guilt, Trevor's shame becomes suspicion, then paranoia, when it appears his workmates are conspiring to have him fired - or worse. First he finds cryptic notes left in his apartment. Next he's told that a mysterious co-worker involved in the accident doesn't exist.

Are these mysteries a plot to drive Trevor mad? Or is fatigue robbing him of his reason? Trevor investigates the strange occurrences that are turning his world into a sleepless nightmare. Yet the more he learns, the less he wants to know...

Ivan is a character created by Trevor in his imaginary world. He could be summarily seen as the manifestation of Trevor's conscience- his strange, somewhat unnerving appearance (long teeth, deformed hand) reflects the suppressed ugliness in Trevor's past that Ivan's appearance heralds the surfacing of.