The Science Of Sleep [2006]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Science of Sleep concerns the flirtations and misunderstandings of Stéphane (played by Gael García Bernal), an aspiring visual artist, and Stéphanie (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg), his Parisian neighbour who creates whimsical sculptures from cotton balls and felt. As Stéphane toils in a caustic office for a company that makes calendars, he retreats into his dreams and finds them increasingly hard to distinguish from reality, and vice-versa.

The French magician and director Georges Méliès was arguably the first master of special effects, filling the silent movie houses of the early 20th century with camera trickery that stunned and delighted audiences. A century later, Michel Gondry works very much in the spirit of his artistic predecessor and countryman, creating films and music videos that feel just as hand-crafted and visually fantastical. The Science of Sleep is a trilingual film, with dialogue spoken in French, English, and Spanish by characters who are very much global citizens, crossing boundaries of consciousness as easily as they cross boundaries of culture. Gondry decorates his love story with deliberately low-tech special effects, including cellophane made to look like bath water and a subconscious television studio constructed largely of corrugated cardboard. This is filmmaking with all the seams and stitches exposed, an appreciation for the patent falseness of films that nonetheless transport and enchant us. It's dreamy. --Ryan Boudinot

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-04-27 rating:
Disappointing
i bought this film on the strength of Eternal Sunshine but am left so disappointed - took three stabs to watch it in entirety. Best parts were the closing frames (as illustrated on the DVD sleeve) and closing soundtrack. A letdown.

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review by: date: 2008-03-13 rating:
A Mess
I loved Human Nature and Eternal Sunshine but since then it's been a rapid decline in my eyes, reaching new depths with Be Kind Rewind which was beyond awful...without a Kaufmann script Michel Gondry appears to be unable to fashion anything himself outside of music video slapstick. This is an irritatingly wacky idea that's been drawn out into a film - lame half-characters I didn't care about speaking banal dialog to each other. I went into the cinema with great enthusiasm but this was too much pop video, novel bits of papier-mache patchwork surrealism trying to paper over the cracks of an otherwise dull self-indulgent tale.

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review by: date: 2008-01-27 rating:
Confusing at times, but beautiful to behold.
I thought this movie was really beautiful. It was intensely creative and explored many ideas at once. The only quip i have with it is that i felt at times the line between shephane's dreams and real life was too blurred, and to that end its hard to make out a story line. As a matter of fact the whole experience of the film (id go so far as to call it an experience) was very much like a dream, in that thinking back on it now, i can only remember small details, little quirks and emotions and romances, and nothing much of what actually happened.

I recommend you buy this film if you were a fan of 'eternal sunshine' or, in fact, if you are a fan of quirky french films or surrealism.

I recommend too, that you watch it more than once.

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review by: Meow date: 2007-12-26 rating:
Magnifiqué
Got to say this film is Great!!!!!!

If you haven't seen it yet, buy it!

I love how he constantly slips in-and-out of reality, and the embarassing stuff he does is very amusing! But if easily confused, watch this with somebody clever :)


review by: date: 2007-12-25 rating:
Beautiful!
A friend from Europe recommended me to get this film, and I had never heard of it before, but decided to give it a watch based on the amazing preview. Straight from the start I was engrossed, and yes some of the parts are slightly bizarre, but they are also wonderful. The use of props and effects in this is immense, and visually it is a treat. It is also the storyline that makes this film so great; every character is well crafted and interesting, with the plot being fast moving yet 'real' and some of the quotes are really memorable and some parts really moving. There are also moments of comedy & the film is light-hearted with indeed a lot of heart. Everyone with whom I watched this with for the first time has watched it at least a few times since, and each time it gets better and better, and more hidden gems discovered.

Whether you are looking for a deep and meaningful film, or something just visually stimulating, then I would recommend this film. It instantly became my favourite.

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