The Science of Sleep

Michel Gondry is an odd fellow, a true eccentric he first came to my attention through his bizarre but visually creative music videos for artists such as Bjork, you may remember the white stripes Lego advert, that was him. So far he has made two feature films, Human Nature and one of my favourite films of the past few years – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This though was his first film as writer and director and it manages to combine everything found in his work today with his odd creative sensitivities, focusing on dreams and reality in unusual and captivating ways. It is not a mainstream film by any stretch, but I welcomed the unique nature of the films ideas and visuals. The film concerns Stephane a Mexican who returns to Paris after his father’s death. A child-like figure Stephane is an artist who finds it hard to distinguish between his dreams and reality. Within his dreams he enters a television show where he watches and interprets his life, and these dream sequences are wonderfully constructed with liberal use of stop motion and practical effects rather than CG, making the films visuals seem at once more real and also more unique. Stephane’s world is changed though when his neighbour moves in, the charming but shy Stephanie who gradually starts to bond with Stephane, but can he escape his fantasy world to make a real life relationship work? What Gondry adds to the film is a similar mix of child-like wonder and adult cynicism about the world, the people in the film are real, flawed and troubled and he doesn’t shy away from some of the harder aspects of growing up and getting on in the world. However the real heart that made Eternal Sunshine so captivating remains and the tender relationship grown between the characters is charming and effortless. The actors have great chemistry and the structuring of the film often confuses you as to whether a sequence is a dream or not, furthering the overall dream-like nature of the film. There are so many small beautiful moments in the film that Gondry adds that make this one of the most memorable and individual films I have seen this year. What was surprising to me about the film was Gondry’s brave decision to make Stephane such a complex and at times unlikeable character,. He can be childish and self-destructive and the vague and slightly unsettled ending leaves the future ambiguous. However I think that this did temper my feelings towards the film as it does not have a typical romantic conclusion, something we start to desire as, despite his flaws, we can’t help but want the best for Stephane, largely in part to the magnificent and committed performance from Gael Garcia Bernal and the supporting cast who manage to make every character stand out and interesting. Overall this film may well be too strange and inconclusive for many people but if you can embrace Gondry’s unique sensibilities and engage with the world he creates there is a lot to enjoy and hold on to here, dig deep enough and you get one of the strangest but in many ways purest romantic movies of recent years. A strange and affecting tale of outsiders this is a real treat and a true original and memorable film, if you can get past the surreal imagery and sometimes surprisingly uncompromising depiction of the dangers of getting lost in your own mind, this can be a haunting film with a real heart and something new to say.