oh. my. gosh.
Curtis treated me to "The Science of Sleep" tonight--and what a treat it was. Talk about a truly wild imagination and some seriously larger-than-life ideas. Gondry's got that big, big, stuff figured out. And not only does he throw it all out there in every direction, he wraps it all up in a fantastic and romantic package.
I think he took things a step further than "Eternal Sunshine." Through the sort-of narrative of another unlikely romance, he blurs reality with just about everything there is to blur it with: fantasy, subconsciousness, dreaming, the past, the future and others that I can't recall. I'm still recovering. He also takes on adulthood/childhood, the Ego/Id and a surprisingly not hard-to-follow mix of English, Spanish, French and sleep-talk
Gondry also threw in this DIY-ish backdrop/cinematography that makes you want to go home and get busy making cute objects like telephones, ponies and boats out of felt. It's like cozy claymation.
I know the above picture looks a little creepy taken out of context, but it was actually one of the most endearing moments in the movie--and there are many. If I can find a place to download the sweet song he's singing (click here, enter site, click on "soundtrack," skip through songs to "If You Rescue Me"), I probably will. In the meantime, here are some favorite quotes/moments, as we remember them:
"If you don't know, don't improvise."
"It's not that funny. It's not. But I find it funny."
"I don't like it when you talk to me in two different languages. It makes me feel isometric."
"I think you mean schizophrenic."
"Why should I get a gift?"
"For the occasion that you are beautiful."
"Can we just pretend that you didn't see me?"
"I hate it when you cry. Especially if it's not for me."
"How's your head?"
"It's OK. It's not normal."
"I know."
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2 comments:
My friend Olivia came home from this movie and said "It's so good, it's like Jesus came."
I wasn't quite that overwhelmed, but the imagination required to make this movie is pretty astounding. If you've ever seen your life as a movie that you're watching and starring in simultaneously (what Generation X/Yer hasn't)? You will relate to Stephan T.V. in an endearing, self-obsessed kind of way.
Also, if your brain and thoughts have ever been the agent of your own demise, if a dream has ever seemed so real that you react to it in real life, or if one, perfect thing happened to make the otherwise seemingly-awful unfolding events of your life seem right, you will know what Stephan meant when, at the end of the movie when he is defeated and miserable and pleading with a girl to love him face down on her bed (which he won't leave), says:
(Girl/unrequited love of his life): "What were you hoping would happen?"
Stephan: I don't know. Like, maybe you would touch my hair."
Dude, Lane, when are you going to start your own blog already? I could use a daily, even weekly, dose of your writing/thoughts. Just do it. You're so talented.
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