The Science of Sleep
FANTASTIC!! I loved this film. It was absolutely beautiful. Im finding that the more Im immersed in digital culture due to my job mostly, Im increasingly drawn to art that has a distinctly "handmade" quality. Miranda July, Harrell Fletcher, Tom Sachs, Tom Friedman are some artists who's work I really love and Im beginning to find filmmakers who's work have similar qualities. Michel Gondry's work, to me, not only fits into that category, but is defining it. As a guy who, be it on a small scale, manipulates pixels to create illusions, it is refreshing to see a film with the budget to have all kinds of fancy pixel manipulation avoid it at all cost. Rather than go in a lot of detail about how Gondry achieved all of these really complex "effects shots" and bore whomever may be reading, I'll just leave it at he did it all with the camera... all of it. In a way knowing that makes it more magical actually. I read an interview with Gondry and he said that he wasn't interested in using computers to do what he could do with a camera. He said he loves using computers and taking full advantage of DI (the digital intermediary... what happens after the film is transferred to tape and the whole process of editing, compositing, etc.) but he feels that he should treat the computer as a tool that has unique characteristics and use it in ways that are unique to it rather than recreate something that he can create by hand. "When I go into a digital mode, I will not try to imitate things I can do with the camera optically, but I will try to find how you can treat the machine to make it alive, to push it to do something that it's never done." (from an interview in RES magazine)
Anyway, moving away from my fascination with the process of Gondry's filmmaking, I really loved the story as well. I told a friend the night after I saw it, "I've never felt so confused and understood at the same time." At times I felt like I was telling the story because it was so on point as to what happens in my head on a daily basis. At the same time due to the story, which in a nutshell is a guy falls for the girl next door, but due to the fact that he has trouble dissassociating his dreams from reality, he royally screws himself in trying to pursue a relationship with Stephanie who appears to be the ideal match for him, I stayed fairly confused because you see the story through Stphene's eyes... so his dreams are blurring into his reality and vice versa.
Honestly I left the theater feeling alltogether joyful, hopefull, inspired and defeated. All those are probably the same feelings that most people left with barring defeated. The feeling of defeat is the same feeling that I get after hearing Chris Griffin play guitar, or the feeling that an aspiring pianist would get from hearing a guy like Rick Barnes. You just feel like you'll never do anything that hits the target the way that what you just experienced did. Its inspiring and crushing all in the same instance.
I can't say enough good stuff about Michel Gondry and his work. If you can see this film do so. (If you happen to be in Birmingham, AL the only place its playing is at Brook Highland and it might not be there anymore.) Absolutely wonderful.
Anyway, moving away from my fascination with the process of Gondry's filmmaking, I really loved the story as well. I told a friend the night after I saw it, "I've never felt so confused and understood at the same time." At times I felt like I was telling the story because it was so on point as to what happens in my head on a daily basis. At the same time due to the story, which in a nutshell is a guy falls for the girl next door, but due to the fact that he has trouble dissassociating his dreams from reality, he royally screws himself in trying to pursue a relationship with Stephanie who appears to be the ideal match for him, I stayed fairly confused because you see the story through Stphene's eyes... so his dreams are blurring into his reality and vice versa.
Honestly I left the theater feeling alltogether joyful, hopefull, inspired and defeated. All those are probably the same feelings that most people left with barring defeated. The feeling of defeat is the same feeling that I get after hearing Chris Griffin play guitar, or the feeling that an aspiring pianist would get from hearing a guy like Rick Barnes. You just feel like you'll never do anything that hits the target the way that what you just experienced did. Its inspiring and crushing all in the same instance.
I can't say enough good stuff about Michel Gondry and his work. If you can see this film do so. (If you happen to be in Birmingham, AL the only place its playing is at Brook Highland and it might not be there anymore.) Absolutely wonderful.
