The Science of Sleep

Or, The Science of Sleep. A film that rates -very- high on the weirdness scale as it tells the story of a man that has trouble keeping reality and dreamworld apart. It starts when he moves back to France to live with his mother after his father passes away. The rest of his story is a fairly normal one, just the way it is played out is rather odd.

This film had me watching it open mouthed for most of the time. From the very start of it to the very end. In fact, I might have had my mouth open from the moment it started - I didn't realize it until about halfway through. The astonishment and pleasure on my end started with the very first shots - the way things got depicted and worked out. A film that is as much a film as a true piece of art.

I can do nothing other than rating this one very highly. It is like a dream but also like reality and it explains its title and theme very clearly. Acting is good enough and the music choice is very fitting. All in all, very worthwhile material.

9 out of 10 fuzzy dreams

This is a perfect example of a love-it-or-hate-it movie simply because its very nature means it's somewhat plot less -- we're constantly unsure if what we're seeing on the screen is really real or just in Gael Garcia Bernal's dreams, and some moviegoers abhor uncertainty, hence I think the large number of "1" votes for this flick. (Also, the film is ostensibly foreign, but moves from French to English with equal measure, with a little bit of Spanish tossed in, too. So maybe the shifts in language also irked some people, but I found it enchanting.) So don't let those low votes fool you; this is a beautiful, sublime film, and if you let yourself go onto its wavelength, you'll most likely find yourself *enjoying* the (perhaps unsolvable) visual puzzle Michel Gondry has created here. It is the quintessence of magical realism, and yet everything comes across as absolutely effortless, unlike the forced whimsy of, say, last year's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or the too-clever-by-half Adaptation. I dare say it's probably one of the best films of the year.

One of the most important things to note about this is that it is not meant to be a mainstream piece. If you like Charlie Kaufman and/or Michel Gondry(as I do, I love the latter's approach and style, and it is immensely evident here; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favorite films), this is for you. No, there is little real plot. This is delving into the mind of the lead, and in doing so, exploring emotions(including complex, ambivalent ones) and his relationship with a woman. Ah, not just any, she may be the one. Shifting back and forth between imagination and reality, this is often intentionally disorienting about which we're seeing at that specific time. There is marvelous ambiguity in this. The visuals are amazing, creative, and always perfectly conveying the mood that they are supposed to. Excellent stop-motion animation. The actors(who all deliver impeccable performances) actually got to see what their realistically written(not all likable) and nicely fleshed out characters were meant to be seeing, so they could react to it, not merely "pretend it's there". This is in English with a bit of French and occasionally Spanish, and both are subtitled. The editing is spot-on. There is a little sexuality, infrequent strong language and brief male nudity in this. I recommend this to anyone who believes that this medium can be an artform. 8/10

Michel Gondry, the visually creative giant behind some of MTV's most stylistically innovative music videos, and more recently the driving force behind his and script writer extraordinare Charlie Kaufman's brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, finally makes his solitary debut, choosing to write and direct this surrealist tale of dreams, reality, and the lines some people walk between them. Fans of the visual virtuoso must have been anticipating Gondry's official declaration as auteur for some time, having salivated for a decade now as this French director continually pushed the envelope for lucky musicians.

I'm sure many saw The Science of Sleep as a proving ground that would help fans see if the eccentric director would be able to parlay all of these visually creative aspects into a more cohesive, cinematic experience. By and large, the dangerously imaginative movie succeeds on it's own, though there are a few discrepancies to note. First, it does feel that much of the way the movie is shot, in particular the scenes which stay most grounded in reality, do mimic a lot of the production values that gave Eternal Sunshine such a realistically detached value to it. Ditto with much of the stream-of-consciousness script, at times heavily emulating the flow Gondry and Kaufman helped pioneer the first time around. The actual plot is decidedly low-key, and for good reason, though at times Gondry does struggle to fill all of his microcosms with relevance. To say these values remain derivative and do not completely complement the whimsically dark storytelling taking place here though, would be to forsake the fantastic and singular joy that the Science of Sleep is.

Regardless of it's constant French avant-garde noodling, and despite the obvious parallels to Gondry's previous film, Science remains a near-masterwork, punctuated by the intoxicating rhythm of it's perceptive dream sequences, often edited with the most keen of intentions. Whether viewers will stay immersed throughout the fantasy bleed-in will be up to ones subjective threshold, and ones ability to thrive off of the magically deranged pacing that hints at underlying psychological relevance. Gondry's masterful pacing does not disappoint, culminating with the brilliant evolution of the script's supremely playful tone into something much more serious.

Of course, the sincere material would only be at home when recited by actors of a pure heart, and in this Gondry also excels by casting two leads who do everything they can to involve us in the realist fantasy. Gael García Bernal, always doing well to pick good material, finally slips into an English language role with the ease I would expect, and the luminous yet subdued Charlotte Gainsbourg radiates the earthly kind of magic that this film is all about. People with strict objective agendas stay clear, anyone else who still uses an inkling of their imagination, please dive in. It may not be perfect, but Science is surely one of the most unique and perceptive fantasies to merge with the mass consciousness in years.

There is no surprise in Hollywood's ignoring this film for awards and honors. None at all. This film does not speak Hollywood's language, because it speaks the language of art, not the language of money. It is brilliant. It is entertaining. It is visually hypnotic. It is insightful. These qualities cannot be found in today's blockbusters. Bernal is endearing and funny. Gainsbourg is beautiful in an intensely real light. The pace of the film is exquisite. I also had the pleasure of watching the 'Making of...' documentary on the DVD. Michel Gondry's subtle genius shines brilliantly in the interviews. The techniques employed to achieve the effects in the film are amazingly un-Hollywood. I have a new respect for French film-making. Added to the wonders of Jeunet are the wonders of Gondry. I cannot recommend this film strongly enough to anyone with a sense of humor and imagination.