The film that I decided to look up reviews on was The Science of Sleep. The Science of Sleep is a film that I loved because I love the way that the director (Michel Gondry) let us step into the mind of the main character, Stephane. Stephane is a man who is very sweet and good-natured but is having trouble with his dreams invading into his real everyday life. He cannot distinguish what is real and what is dream, which creates some pretty funny encounters with his neighbor girl of interest Stephanie. The film was different than any other I have ever seen, and confusing at times but the artistic creativity was enough to override it for me.
A review from Amy Biancolli of the Houston Chronicle, states:
"Directed by French fabulist Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) from his own screenplay, The Science of Sleep struggles with the same disorder as its muddled protagonist: It doesn't always distinguish between waking and sleeping. Keeping track of Stéphane's world-conquering daydreams and whimsical REM cycles is a difficult and rather pointless task, and only the foolhardy will try to discern too much meaning in any of them."
Another thing that I loved about the film was the lighthearted humor given. Keep in mind that the entire movie must be watched in subtitles unless you can speak Spanish, French, and English all at the same time without becoming confused (or 'schizometric' as Stephane says). The fact that reading subtitles can sometimes be tiring is not much of a problem though. The humor is mostly things that you can follow along with just by watching. And the whimsicalness of the film will keep you enraptured and interested even if you are not following the story.
Duane Byrge of The Hollywood Reporter agrees with me by saying:
"Laced with great goofiness and oddball associations, "The Science of Sleep" is a super-kinetic lark, juiced by some nutty production design and fueled by a wonderfully incongruous mélange of styles. Enlivened by a slapstick sensibility, "Sleep" walks through a world that resembles an off-kilter Toys "R" Us, as if Terry Gilliam ran the franchise."
And the last thing that I really noticed when watching The Science of Sleep was the great cinematography. I thought it was shot very well and had a lot of interesting things to add. Michel Gondry has a history of using interesting transitions from settings and characters and The Science of Sleep is no exception. There are parts in this movie that really make you wonder, "how did they do that?” One of them being a part when Stephane is floating through a town made out of cardboard toilet paper rolls, and another being when Stephane and Stephanie are throwing cotton balls into the air only to find that what goes up, does not always come down.
Well I'm sure that you can tell by my review that I loved this film and I speak very highly of it. I strongly recommend it to anyone that loves seeing something in a movie other than just a love story with a good soundtrack. Because The Science of Sleep is that and more.
Monday, September 17, 2007
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