Film Reviews

The Science of Sleep

• Rating:
• Director: Michel Gondry
• Starring: Alain Chabat
• Details: France / 106mins (15).

If you can remember Gondry's last feature, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - and in particular the scenes showing Jim Carrey scurrying through his own mind, hiding out in long-forgotten memories - well, just imagine that sequence stretched out over an entire film and you're already someway to knowing what's in store in his new film, The Science Of Sleep. Stephane Miroux (Bernal) moves back to Paris when his mother sets him up with a job with a calendar publisher. His boring life takes a turn when he falls for his arty next-door neighbour Stephanie (Gainsbourg), but she's not too sure of him because Stephane has a slight mental defect: he can't distinguish between his dreams and reality and both impose on each other with increasingly regularity. The Science Of Sleep is a visual feast, as there's something interesting or zany happening in every scene. Gondry doesn't let up for a second, throwing everything at the screen like we're caught in the stream of consciousness of a creative child: live action, animation, stop-motion, three different languages and everything else you can think of, all the while paying homage to Luis Bunuel and the Lumiere brothers. However, although this is the film's highlight, it's also its downfall as the plot and characters get a little lost in all the madness. We certainly root for Bernal and hope things work out for him; but the love story, which is the heart of the film, makes too much room for the machinations of the mind - and that is never the way to approach romance, on screen or off. The Science Of Sleep is fun, but may need a couple of viewings to truly grasp what the hell is going on.

Review by Gavin Burke