The Science of Sleep
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Movie Reviews of The Science of Sleep
Movie Review: Dream World Meets Real World ...Or Is It The Other Way Around?
Summary: 5 Stars
If you thought director Michel Gondry's ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND was dream-like, you ain't seen nothing yet. THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP plunges headlong into the line that separates dreams from reality and blurs it so perfectly as to make the audience feel as if they've stepped into a piece of an artist's REM sleep.
What the film does so well is create a moving canvas on the screen (note: see this on the big screen) while at the same time challenging the audience to follow the story of a struggling artist named Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal, THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES) as he moves into his mother's home after the death of his father. Next door to their flat, he finds a woman with a like-minded soul named -- oddly enough -- Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg, JANE EYRE). Initially Stephane is attracted to Stephanie's friend but soon learns that Stephanie and he have artistic aspirations that go beyond the norm.
But Stephane is not just artistically inclined while he's awake, but while he sleeps, too. His dream world starts encroaching on the "real" and vice-versa, making it seem as if he were having waking dreams. Stephane has a news casting set (in his dreams) that acts as his platform from which his ideas/dreams launch. He is the camera operator, sound technician, and host for his dreams, having two pulled shades against backdrop windows that represent his eyelids and a third, larger window that acts as the gateway for his dreams.
As Stephanie becomes more and more a part of his life, she becomes more and more intertwined in his dreams (both sleeping and waking). Their strange relationship builds within Stephane's dream world only to be fuddled up by the real one. But can a person's dreams turn their life around? Can it become more lifelike than the waking world? Such are questions left up to the audience's interpretation.
The living tapestry-style artwork of the dream world will be the biggest pull for movie watchers. The colors, scene jumps, and nonsensical dreams are pure eye-candy -- one might wonder if being on hallucinogens could make the film experience even more enjoyable. The other big plus is that the movie actually engages the audience and challenges them to understand what is happening rather than just dragging us through another vapid and transparent Hollywood plot. And most viewers will feel that if their eyes leave the screen they'll miss something vital or be pulled out of this fantastically visual world and dumped back into their own drab existence. Such is the magic of The Science of Sleep.
And it is magical. Childlike wonder and adult fantasy live comfortably side by side in Gondy's latest cinematic offering and it is an excellent, if unusual (and fresh), work of art.
Movie Review: This is what a movie is supposed to be
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to preface my review by saying that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind continues to be one of my favorite movies ever, so I may be a bit biased in reviewing Gondry's newest film.
After watching The Science of Sleep in a sold-out theatre (the only theatre in town showing it), I have to say I'm ready to see it again. Much like Eternal Sunshine, this movie provides a very intimate, realistic portrait of a relationship. Instead of showing it in a straight-forward way, however, this film moves in and out of Stephane's (Gael Garcia Bernal's) dreams and the real world. We discover that Stephane has always had a problem with confusing his dreams and reality.
This leaves the audience with the same problem. Sometimes you can't tell what's really happening and what is happening only in Stephane's dreams. Instead of hindering the plot, though, this only deepens the intensity of what you're seeing. It also demands to be watched over and over again. Like Eternal Sunshine, the plot is so finely crafted, that multiple views will give you more insight into what is happening and clear up scenes that were questionable before.
Gael Garcia Bernal gives an amazing performance (in 3 languages) as a child-like man who spends most of his time living through his dreams instead of in reality. The rest of the cast is brilliant as well, and it's a cool experience to see characters switch from English to French in the middle of a scene.
The stop-motion animation is great and really helps develop the other-worldly quality of Stephane's dream sequences. The dreams are linear enough to move the plot, but still disconnected enough to feel like realistic dreams.
This film represents what movies are supposed to do: move and surprise us. You never know what's going to happen next in this film, and it's such a relief to witness something so original unfolding on screen.
The only drawback is that this movie will probably not be released to wider audiences. Because of this, many people will miss out on a great movie experience.
Movie Review: A Beautiful Work of Art
Summary: 5 Stars
The Science of Sleep is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Just finished watching it for the first time. It is the masterpiece of Michael Gondry, director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It is literally a work of art. The closest thing I have seen to it is Mirrormask, directed by Dave McKean.
The Science of Sleep is the story of Stephane Miroux. Stephane confuses his dreams with reality. He cannot tell which is which. Languages are constantly switched throughout the movie from Spanish to English to French. The movie takes place in France. Stephane falls in love with his neighbor, Stephanie, who lives in his apartment complex. She is one of the few people in his life who understand him to an extent. She is a creative type and is an artist, which attracts Stephane. Rather than mock him, she works with him in his dream worlds; creates with him; brings imagination to life.
Gondry shows us one of the most human movies I have seen in years. It is heartbreaking, heartwarming, charming, witty, and most of all imaginative. Gondry shows us what it is like to be Stephane. We experience this film from Stephane's eyes and his point of view, which is far from the "normal" point of view. But what is the normal point of view? Stephane's world seems very attractive to the viewer, but Gondry shows us that while it may look like an exciting way of viewing life, it is really a curse at times. Stephane's strongest and weakest points spring from his illness.
Why this movie wasn't nominated for any awards I don't know. As I said before, it is filmed beautifully, the art direction is beyond superb, Gael Garcia Bernal gives a wonderful performance as Stephane, and it is the first look (though it may be an exaggerated look) into mental illness that I have seen portrayed so humanly and so directly behind the eyes of a person. I highly recommend this film to everyone. May be a little artsy for some, but for people who like indie-type flicks, you'll love this one.
Movie Review: What's Real and What's Imagined?
Summary: 5 Stars
In writer-director Michel Gondry's new film, "The Science of Sleep" he compares the sleep cycle to an internal television station in which the dreamer is host and star of every show. Welcome to Stephane TV where a cooking show combines memories, reminiscences, relationships, and a pinch of "other kinds of ships" in a large mixing bowl to produce a tasty blend of Stephane's dream life.
In this mind-boggling romance, man-child Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal) finds the woman of his dreams (literally). An artist and inventor stuck in a menial job with obnoxious co-workers, Stephane finds his alter ego in next-door neighbor Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg).
By constantly confusing his dream world with his waking life, however, Stephane runs the risk of permanently losing his tentative grasp of reality. Similar in subject and style to dream movies such as Waking Life, Vanilla Sky, Monkeybone, and more specifically Gondry's, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (Widescreen Edition) this imaginative film packs lots of entertainment, style, meaning, and, of course, emotion into a seemingly endless series of dazzling dream sequences.
Leslie Halpern, author of Dreams on Film: The Cinematic Struggle Between Art and Science and Reel Romance: The Lovers' Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies.
Movie Review: Dreams and Alchemy of Surrealistic Romance
Summary: 5 Stars
On a comic level, The Science of Sleep is an extremely entertaining quirky story of romance between the ultra-geek genius Stephane, played by Gael Garcia Bernal, and the highly creative but more grounded Stephanie, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg. On a more sobering philosophical level, the film examines the age-old conflict between the creative genius' need to reshape life into his or her metaphorical visions of it while simultaneously struggling to adapt to the surrounding physical and social world as it is.
In the case of Stephane, he is much more adept at negotiating the dreams that fuel his artistic brilliance than he is at managing his up-and-down relationship with Stephanie, whose name would imply that she's actually his perfect match. Considering that Stephane has given up a job he enjoyed--after being duped by his mother into moving to Paris and taking a job he does not particularly enjoy--and does not really want to be where he is, his attempts at happiness are constantly compromised by societal demands.
Director Michel Gondry constructs an extraordinary environment composed of both colorful animation and realistic French urbanism. Within this environment he wisely gives free reign to his gifted cast and puppet creator Laurie Faggione. The result is a daring film anchored in emotional and psychological intensities even as it takes off on wild thrilling flights of surrealistic imagery. The Science of Sleep then becomes an alchemy of exploding dreams, nightmares, despair, and love.
By Aberjhani
author of I Made My Boy Out of Poetry
and Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)