I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
Roll up, roll up people, and embrace one of movie’s great new talents. Original, authentic and hilarious, Michel Gondry’s fourth feature (after the Charlie Kaufman scripted 'Human Nature', 'Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind' and the Dave Chappelle documentary 'Block Party') sees him on his loosest reins yet. He bounces the movie between extremes - slapstick and melodrama, dreams and reality. Both sentimental and aloof, both absurd and authentic. 'The Science Of Sleep' is an unexpected breath of fresh air. Brilliant.
Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal) is an aspiring artist and inventor who struggles to distinguish between his dreams and reality. He returns to Paris after the death of his father, gets a job with a calendar publisher, and starts to fall for his new neighbour – Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg). That’s all the story Gondry needs. In the same manner as his American contemporaries (like Wes Anderson, Spike Jonze) Gondry uses a simple premise/plot as a license to at once go on wild tangents, and make an intricate study of the characters.
High on special effects but low (possibly non-existent) on CGI, Stephane’s dreams are done via low-fi, in-camera trickery. Every scene is a mini labour of love - tactile and immediately engaging. Maybe it’s because you can see straight through them, making them more amusing and more intriguing. He has a dream of being at work with giant hands - quite clearly, the effect is done by using giant, fake hands.
Stephane is a ridiculous man – incredibly immature and needy, lost in his own vivid imagination. He invents glasses that make real life 3D, he shows them off to Stephanie who asks “Isn’t life already in 3D?”, his response: “Yeah but, pfft, c’mon.” He’s also a bit of a son of a bitch, and too swept up in his own head to really care about others. Though they’re self-defense mechanisms, he’s often unreliable and quick to put down others (especially the object of his affection) – “do you think you’ll ever fix your teeth?”
The icing on the cake is the film’s ending, which – perhaps reflecting a French rather than American sensibility – doesn’t take the high road, and Stephane is very much Stephane at the end of the film. To paraphrase Adaptation, there’s no naff resolution, characters don’t overcome great obstacles to succeed in the end, and it works. Literally the film is quite a tragic tale, but it never feels this way – Stephane’s unerring optimism and the film’s humour overpowering it.
If 'Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind' marked Michael Gondry’s arrival as one of the most exciting filmmakers of the current "new wave", 'The Science Of Sleep' confirms it.
By Paul Scantlebury, Flicks.co.nz
Saw this at last year's film festival and found it to be one of the most delightfully quirky movies I've ever seen. It truly is cinematic magic. 5 stars from me =)
Dear Michel, I really liked your film. Was is really based on your own experiences? You must be an imaginative man. I liked the dream sequences with the low-fi effects like rear-projection and entire cities made out of cardboard tubes. It looked cool as. I thought the actress who played the friend (Zoe) was really hot. I liked her hair. Can you give me her number? I liked the end because it wasn't a conventional end like I've seen in other movies. The acting was funny as. I liked the character Stephane. Was he the one based on you? Because he was quite rude sometimes to the girl, even unintentionally. And I'd like to offer you some advice on how not to do that, if you've got time to meet me. Let me know. Billy.
I was expecting a lot from Michel Gondry on the back of Eternal Sunshine and what appeared to be an interesting concept for this particular movie, but this was a massive disappointment. The characters, or caricatures, are poorly written and the dialogue is painful at times. I guess the idea may be that the latter is how people really talk in situations where they are nervous, jealous, etc, but I'm not sure this is sustainable for a whole movie where there is little else on offer. I'm sure there will be people who have loved this as much as I hated it, but in my view go see Pan's Labyrinth instead if you want to see a gripping, groundbreaking, innovative piece of work.
Michel gondry has done it again. A fantasomological treat full of cinematic pearls of wounderment. With a combination of crafty props, in-camera trickery and a script that goes every direction - but where one expects it to, gondry has created a new cult classic. i reccomend it to all.
Geez!! It literally was Mindblowing for me....I came out of the cinema hall with a headache. A wonderful film though for all those abstract concept lovers out there.
It suffers occasionally from self-consciousness and over-indulgence in its own oddity, but Gondry’s grasp of emotion and visuals is enchanting. Even if he seems several sandwiches short of a picnic...
The Science of Sleep truly has to be seen to be believed....
A kaleidoscopic concoction of novel images, this synaptic cinematic is a wild visual phantasmaria. In short, it's a textural mindblower and a lot of fun...
It's not likely you'll see a film more visually exhilarating until, well, Gondry's next...
1/2 Those who make a point of seeing this on the basis of director Michel Gondry's previous quite brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are likely to be disappointed...
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 8th Mar 2007.
Release date: March 8th 2007.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
