Michel Gondry’s follow up to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is super-kinetic lark starting Gael Garcia Bernal as a shy guy whose dream world overlaps with reality.
A whimsical, irrepressibly creative and playfully childlike confection... No doubt highly personal and yet as effervescent as sparkling water.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2006
The Science of Sleep 2006
La science des rêves
Cinemagician Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) returns to his native France to direct his own original screenplay, delving deep, with his own sweet brand of uninhibited delight, into the subconscious lives of two people in love.
“This one is set in the far reaches of inner space, namely the surreal, fanciful dream world of one shy guy... Stéphane (Gael García Bernal) moves back in with his French mom after the death of his father. Distraught and trying to find himself, he starts a job as a graphic designer that is more photocopying than creation. Overwhelmed by his ‘reality’ world, his dreams sharpen and intensify: soon, his soaring dream life intercedes with his everyday world. This causes both breakthroughs and problems: he connects with the girl-next-door, oddly enough named Stéphanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg), but his accelerating disassociations and zany cleverness exasperate her. 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… As the addled protagonist, García Bernal is an energized elfin delight, while Gainsbourg is manically marvelous as the girl who somehow connects with his silly sensibilities… ” — Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter
“Gondry’s effervescent, pulsating, unpredictable movie revels in an uninhibited aesthetic freedom and creative zest that’s utterly alien to the current North American independent scene. I’d watch it again in a heartbeat.” — Tom Charity, Cinema Scope