#1 - The Science of Sleep

The Science of Sleep


I had already seen this movie, but I wanted to show it to Sheila, because she loves Amélie, which reminded me of The Science of Sleep when I saw it.  Like everything Michel Gondry touches, The Science of Sleep is full of whimsical artistic touches, with animation that makes you gasp at how well it works and wonder why no one ever thought of it before.  Except I think Sleep was Gondry's baby, because the art, and the strange wonder of the process, and the strange magic of dreams are all tied together and threaded through the narrative.  At its heart, The Science of Sleep is a love story, but it takes place in a world where things don't always turn out okay - it isn't about happiness, it's about hope.

I liked watching it for a second time because it's such a rich and - well, I don't want to say cluttered world, but it's a visual assault at times of tiny details, and it opens itself up a little more with each viewing.  I love the almost-clumsy realness of the characters, I love seeing how friendships form and I get a little window into the lives of ordinary people with strange and wonderful inner landscapes.

Quick rundown of plot: this movie, which is in three languages (French, English, Spanish) is about a charming but staggeringly naïve young man named Stéphane Miroux (played by the cause-you-to-spontaneously-burst-into-flames-and-drop-dead sexy Gael García Bernal), who is returning to France to live with his mother after his Mexican father dies of cancer.  He loves to invent things and create art, and he is extremely fascinated by mental phenomena, by dreams and the connections between people.  Since childhood, he has had trouble distinguishing dreams from reality.  He meets Stéphanie (quiet and graceful Charlotte Gainsbourg), a fellow artist whose apartment is across the hall from his.  Unfortunately, nothing in Stéphane's life is simple, except his memories.