How dreams are prepared
Movies
Director Michel Gondry is so
predictably unpredictable. After making a pair of this young century’s more
original movies with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (2001’s bizarre Human Nature and 2004’s arguably
flawless Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless
Mind), Gondry chose to stifle his inventive
whimsy in the service of comedian Dave Chappelle to
film his rousing Block Party. But Gondry returns to mindbending
territory with The Science of Sleep,
working for the first time from his own script and unleashing his every
romantic and heartbreaking impulse with eye-popping abandon.
The Science of Sleep unravels in English, French, and Spanish (with subtitles, of course) as Stéphane (Gael Garcia Bernal from The Motorcycle Diaries, having oodles of fun) returns to Paris from
Mexico… well, actually, the film opens with StéphaneTV,
the talk show Stéphane hosts while he’s asleep. Stéphane has an extremely active subconscious, so much so
that the quiet artist often confuses it with his waking life. He takes a job
assembling calendars with the zaniest co-workers this side of yours, and then
he meets Stéphanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg,
21 Grams).
I guess it might be more accurate to say that Stéphane meets Zoe, Stéphanie’s more obviously pretty friend. But you totally
know, even without the name thingy, that Stéphane and
Stéphanie are meant for each other, and not just from
the way that they can suspend cotton clouds with the correct piano notes and
their mutual adoration of Golden the Pony Boy. The
only person who may not realize their rightness is Stéphanie,
who sees Stéphane as immature (true) and slightly
deluded (also true). Plus he keeps asking for Zoe’s
phone number during the REM stage.
Honestly, the plot is secondary, an excuse for Gondry to fashion the most gorgeous movie you’re likely to
see until he makes another. The Science
of Sleep is stuffed with more beauty than I could possibly describe, such
as the obvious art of the crudely elegant stop-motion animation and the
handmade gew-gaws lining Stéphanie’s
flat, as well as tiny touches like Stéphane’s
omnipresent hat and the playful cardboard cameras capturingStéphaneTV. But for all its whimsy, Gondry’s script is surprisingly realistic, making no
attempt to hide the fact that Stéphane acts at times
like a petulant child and acknowledging that love doesn’t actually drop in your
lap and isn’t in the first place you look either.
Come to think of it, The
Science of Sleep is a lot like love: vivid, sad, joyful, cluttered, and
best of all, fiercely passionate. And as in Eternal
Sunshine, Gondry nails the landing. Not every
filmmaker has the stones to try it, but the best denouements offer no easy
answers and no clear resolution, only a jumping-off point for your imagination
to wander. As I said, a lot like love.
We’ve all seen Raiders
of the Lost Ark…
what? Please don’t tell me you haven’t. Go rent it. I’ll still be here when you
get back.
Not bad, huh? Steven Spielberg was inspired to make his 1981
classic by the adventure serials of his youth, and he, in turn, motivated a
trio of Mississippians to film their own shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the — “Big deal,” you say.
“Gus Van Sant did the same thing with Psycho and it sucked.”
First of all, don’t interrupt. Secondly, the aforementioned
friends — Chris Strompolos, Jayson
Lamb, and Eric Zala — were 10 and 11 years old when
they began their odyssey in 1982, finally completing filming of Raiders
of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation in 1989. Kids finishing anything is pretty astonishing, but all 602
scenes are there, from the rolling boulder to the Nazi face-melting to the
Marion-kissing.
Granted, Indiana Jones’ voice didn’t change during the
Spielberg version, and Indy had a monkey instead of a puppy, but if you’ve ever
sat in front of a flickering movie screen and fantasized about making your own
epic, get down to the Dryden on Saturday, September 30. Strompolos,
Lamb, and Zala will all be in attendance to present
their homage to Spielberg’s love letter and answer what will undoubtedly be an
avalanche of questions about how the hell they actually pulled this off.
The Science of Sleep (R), directed by Michel Gondry, opens Friday, September 29, at the Little Theatres
and Pittsford Cinemas | Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation,
featuring visiting guest artists Chris Strompolos, Jayson Lamb, and Eric Zala,
screens Saturday, September 30, at the George Eastman House’s Dryden Theatre, 8
p.m.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2006.
