Summary
Recently, I saw this tale of a socially inept young man again after a good night's sleep and a full tank of coffee, and found the movie much as I remembered it, for better and for worse. The Science of Sleep is a tale of an artist as a young calendar illustrator in Paris, as [Michel Gondry] was many years ago. But, as this is a Gondry film, The Science of Sleep is, first and foremost, a vehicle for his love of visual invention, the use of spatial effects and rear-projection, and the creation of puppets, clouds, animated buildings, motorized stuffed horses and time machines, all made with everyday items. Gondry's homely animation effects are truly marvelous, even when they-as the director has acknowledged-preempt the demands of the film's narrative.
The Science of Sleep also shows that storytelling is not Gondry's strong suit. He is a specialist of the short form of music videos (White Stripes and Bjork, among many others) and television commercials, where visual invention and emotional effects are more highly prized than narrative. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was a brilliant marrying of two similar sensibilities operating in the two media that work in tandem in movies: the written word, derived from theatrical drama, and the moving image. The premise of Eternal Sunshine was Gondry's, but it was [Charlie Kaufman] who brought a finely honed dramatic craftsmanship to the material. As convoluted as that narrative was, it was fundamentally a (very dark) romantic comedy, with a boy meeting his girl, losing her and regaining her. Furthermore, Kaufman fleshed out the story in classical style with a parallel subplot and half a dozen expertly drawn supporting characters. In The Science of Sleep, Gondry's narrative is comparatively impoverished, with little relief from the yin and yang of Stéphane and Stéphanie, dream life and waking life.See the full content of this document
Extract
Perchance to Dream
Perchance to dream
For all its faults, The Science of Sleep is a fascinating work of visual inventionThe Science of Sleep is a title that lends itself to abuse by wisecracking moviegoers, should they have difficulty digesting Michel Gondry's alternately beguiling and frustrating followup to hi...See the full content of this document
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