October 2nd, 2006 by Brent
I've been looking forward to The Science of Sleep for quite some time now. Director Michel Gondry has impressed me with his music video work and his direction in my favorite all time film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. So needless to say, I was pumped going into the theater today. Sadly, I came out disappointed.
The story revolves around Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal), a man who has trouble decipering his dreams from reality. Following the death of his father, he moves to Paris where his mother has provided him with a job making calendars. Stephane hates the job and wants to leave, but soon falls in love with his neighbor Stephanie. However; Stephanie is not so easily won and Stephane deals with the rejection by venturing into his dreams, which are soon overrun with the desire for Stephanie.
Stephanes dreams are filled with fun visuals and show us how creative he is, but they also reveal that Stephane may have some other emotional and mental problems. He gets angry easily, cries, and says very inappropriate things. This of course, causes some conflict with his and Stephanie's relationship.
The idea is interesting, but it is brought together so haphazardly that we fail to really gain a connection with their relationship or even understand what is going on. The visuals in the dream sequences are the best part about the film in my opinion. There is a great mix of stop motion animation, green screen, and camera tricks that add to the unique dream world.
I wanted to love this film, I really did, but ultimately I was let down.
| Quick Review | |
|---|---|
| Plot/Storyline The concept is great, the execution is not. |
5 |
| Acting/Characters Stephane is a very interesting character and Gael Garcia Bernal gives a very nice performance. I found the other characters forgettable. |
6.5 |
| Visuals/Sound Stop motion, green screens, and camera tricks are all used to bring the dream world to life. It's a lot of fun. |
8 |
| Replay I might give it another chance on DVD. As much as I disliked most of it, there were still moments that I loved. |
5 |
| Overall Rating: | 5.5 |
| All scores are out of 10. Overall score is not an average. | |
Comments
danikb
October 3rd, 2006 - 6:08 PM
nn
October 3rd, 2006 - 8:51 PM
I have to agree with Brent, the concept is wonderful, however the execution is difficult to follow. It was a strange movie. I kept waiting for it all to come together and left the theater waiting for it to happen. I have decided a day later that I may have missed the point. Ultimately this was not a love story. This movie is about one man’s struggle to deal with reality. He preferred the dreams and the memories in his dream world (his dream world in which he created) he was in charge. He got to control every aspect. When things did not go as he hoped he was unable to deal with reality, which was usually when he slipped out of reality. I am still left wanting more from this movie, but maybe that part of the point.
Brent
October 4th, 2006 - 7:27 AM
I believe it is still a love story, but it is one that deals with a man whom is confusing his dream relationship with the real relationship that he has with Stephanie. Because of this, Stephanie is often confused by what Stephane is saying and it is up to her to figure out how he really feels.
nn
October 4th, 2006 - 10:32 AM
Let me clarify... the love story is a part of the movie, but the movie is more about a man's struggles to deal with reality and how these struggles affect those around him. So, I guess it is not a love story in any traditional sense. It is about Stephane's inability to cope with life. Stephanie faces some difficult decisions about how to react to Stephane's behavior, but the heart of the movie is about his behavior and struggles to face reality.
danikb
October 4th, 2006 - 10:34 AM
I like what nn was saying about how the movie was really about Stephane's struggle to live in the real world and felt the need to escape. After readings nn's comments, I am beginning to wonder more about how Stephanie may have represented his dream world in the real world, and how he was desperate to hang on to that. I still haven't really worked it out, but I am wondering if that was a relationship that maybe the director was trying to play out.
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I have to say that I agree with Brent in that that the film was confusing and really hard to follow. But, as I was walking out of the theater, I kept wondering whether I was dreaming! It was a totally bizarre feeling. So, even though I had no idea what was going on, I really enjoyed watching the film, if only because it was so weird.