Science of Sleep - Anleitung zum Träumen

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

Director Michel Gondry continues his exploration of the world of dreams, this time without the master writing of Charlie Kaufman who authored the script of 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. Taking upon himself the writing of the story and setting it in an every day Parisian setting Gondry succeeds quite well to continue on the same line of dreams taking over the real world. Here he brings to screen a very direct and simple love story between two young people living half in reality, half in the world of dreams of the principal character. Stephane (Gael García Bernal) is a Mexican young fellow visiting his mother and trying to accommodate with a boring job. He is less living in the real world and more in a world of fantasy where he is trying to find place for his neighbor Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) he falls for.

The very simple and direct story has an overall air of freshness, resulting from acting, but especially from the very warm and almost childish approach to the world of dreams put together by Gondry. His surrealistic space has nothing threatening, no shades or sharp lines as in Dali or De Chirico's paintings no hidden threats as in Hitchcock or social pressure as in Bunuel's movies. It is rather the world of childish cartoons, a low-tech and benevolent space of a prolonged childhood. If we are to trace the roots I would rather go back to the innocence of the characters in Boris Vian's 'L'Ecume des Jours.

I do not know if Gondry will continue his exploration of the world of dreams in future films, but with the two movies in this thematic space he already left a print of his own in a different type of cinema I would call cinema of dreams. From several points of view, because of the sincerity and freshness of the narration I liked more 'La Science des Reves' than the stars-stricken 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'.

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.

This movie had a lot going for it. The art direction was incredibly fun and creative, and overall the movie looked great and had a very unique vision. It was cute and quirky and definitely made me laugh out loud at times while at other times it made me feel awkward and tense in the best possible way.

The dream sequences were fun and blended with reality in a very seamless and engaging way (though on a personal level I prefer the way dreams were portrayed in Waking Life). And while on the surface the love story was thoughtful and true (and I could even relate to it in some ways), the problem for me was that I just couldn't sympathize with Bernal's character, Stéphane. I couldn't really see where Gainsbourg's character, Stéphanie, was coming from either. While their interaction was at times endearing, I just didn't feel like I had to root for them. Still though, there was enough charm in this movie that that fact didn't ruin the movie for me.

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.