+++++

People kept telling me I wasn't going to like this one. I didn't like Eternal Sunshine, and I wasn't sure I could handle what appeared to be a very long Michel Gondry music video, as superbly awesome as they are.

These misgivings were so misplaced it's not even funny.

The Science of Sleep is phenomenally good. I want to go see it again tomorrow, immediately. I think I can add this one to my rarely updated favorite movie list. It's so unlike me to enjoy something like this, but it just WORKED.

I think that what worked so well about it was the fact that nothing HAD to work. The film blended effortlessly between dreams and realities, and it never mattered very much which we were in. We just went along for the ride. Bizarre, random stuff happened from one moment to the next, but it all flowed so organically and smoothly that it didn't matter. It was actually very much like a dream, in the way that it just gently guided us along without ever breaking the fragile illusion or random magic.

The other special aspect of this movie was the incredible realness of the characters and their lives. I would say this reality, this love story, was more real than real life. Hyper-real. More vivid and rich and textured than real life, and consequently, incredibly engaging. I felt like I was living this life with an incredible clarity and immediateness.

It's very hard to put into words. I find it difficult to analyze this movie eloquently. It doesn't follow the ordinary rules, it doesn't fit in a genre, or allow itself to be categorized. It doesn't play the movie game. I can't pin it down.

Simply a beautiful movie. Hilarious, too. Really, really genuinely funny.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: titaniumdoughnut,

The preview looked very good. A little rough around the edges, not as (apparently) as slick and calculated as Eternal Sunshine (which I still haven't seen).

Having seen both, I would say this is by far the more incredible work. It manages to seem imperfect and rough around the edges, while at the same time effortlessly taking us right into an almost stream-of-conciousness-like journey. I think Michel Gondry must have fabricated every tiny aspect of this movie with an insane perfection to pull it off, which only makes the chaotic random feeling all the more beautiful.

I totally agree. I actually loved Eternal Sunshine, but this blows it out of the water. I know it might be weird, but I felt more emotionally engaged in this film than I have in any other in a looong time. I genuinely cared about the characters and everything felt so right to me. I felt Michel Gondry's greatness the entire film. Bravo.

Thank you for this topic!

I have seen the trailer, website and some footage after i have readed your topic, and it seems real nice! I really like the use of stop-motion animation and real life footage and just the whole surreal look.

But iam NOT feeling happy, because of this topic!
A while ago, i started to think about a short film about the dreamworld. The place were dreams get created, the passage between the real world and de dreamworld.

Altough iam sure it would not be the same, you just blew my idea to heaven...

(iam not blaming you just feel a little down... )

Funny you'd mention it, Jerry, because the most recent film I made was eerily similar to the Science of Sleep. It was about a kid who prefers to live in his dream world than reality, and so he gets caught in between real life and his dream life. Science of Sleep was what I would have ended up with if I were smarter, had more money, more time, and more developed characters. haha.

This looks gnarley, I really liked Eternal Sunshine & Human Nature, plus this dude worked w/ Chappelle so he's cool in my book. I'll see this tonight probably

Thanks titaniumdoughnut, nice review. I really like Gondry´s work.
The new sofia coppola movie and The Science of Sleep are openning this week in my country. I need 10$!

Take some small comfort in the fact that here you would actually need $21.50 to see both.

10 dollars 2 see a movie?! Americans are filthy rich !
I pay 5 euros (a little more than 5 usd) to see a movie and I think its expensive.
In the cinema Museum I usually pay 2,5 euros to see a classic.
I have to re-think my intentions of going to america.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fellini77,

But food and housing prices are the same (london is the most expensive ).
The cds and dvds are also cheaper in america.

I have to go to Kazakhstan Film Scool instead !Just Kidding.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fellini77,

quote:

Originally posted by Fellini77:
But food and housing prices are the same (london is the most expensive ).
The cds and dvds are also cheaper in america.

I have to go to Kazakhstan Film Scool instead !Just Kidding.

Lemme know if you see Borat while your there.

quote:

Take some small comfort in the fact that here you would actually need $21.50 to see both.

Not everywhere. Two tickets for the cheap shows would be about $13.50 here, and for evening about $15.

The weird thing is that NY and Boston both have very nice, modern theatres as well as awful ones - yet the ticket costs seem to be equally high at both, or were a few years ago when I had my cineplex experiences there.

Yup. Makes no sense. In fact, the amazingly gigantic and elegant Clearview Ziegfeld (where I saw Lawrence of Arabia in an original 65mm print) sometimes charges LESS than the crappy ones.

It's pretty easy to find a $12-per-ticket theater here in L.A.

Do you have film cards in the us?
You pay like 300 $ a year and watch every movie you want 4 the whole year (one film a day max).
Available only in a few theaters.

quote:

Originally posted by Fellini77:
10 dollars 2 see a movie?! Americans are filthy rich !

Well - or at least more of a sucker to part with our money.

I know people who will only see movies at the "dome" in Hollywood - and their tix are $14+ last time I checked.

I think $10 is alot to see a movie - but it's really the only choice that I have out here in LA. (And I'm not going to spend $14 to see a movie)

-Chris
Studentfilms.com

quote:

Originally posted by Studentfilms.com:
but it's really the only choice that I have out here in LA. (And I'm not going to spend $14 to see a movie)

I don't even live in LA and I know that's not true. I've seen matinees out there for 5-7 bucks, not even including a student discount (which you're eligible for if you were smart enough to hang on to your college ID).

Ok matinees sure...but I don't always plan well enough to do matinees.

My BU student ID has long since disintegrated and fallen apart.

-Chris

Is LA more expensive than NYC?
Just wondering.

In here we got vip area in some theaters. It costs almost 15 euro (17 usd) max.

cheers.