The Science Of Sleep (2006)

(Originally released as La Science des rêves)

Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Miou-Miou, Pierre Vaneck

First, The Lowdown: An artist who spends most of his time in his own head falls in love.

Stephane has just returned to France albeit reluctantly after the insistence of his mother. Mother has promised him not only a place to stay (in the flat where he grew up), but also a job doing graphic design at a local firm. Unfortunately, the apartment stirs up too many uncomfortable memories of his childhood – especially of his father, whom Stephane moved in with after his parents’ divorce. The job equally turns out to be a sham, instead of being a lead designer for a calendar, Stephane is a simple paste boy for a pornographic datebook instead.

Leaving for work one day, he encounters his next door neighbor, Stephanie and her best friend Christine. Stephane is initially attracted to Christine, but the more he talks with Stephanie, the more he is intrigued by her imagination. However, his attraction for either woman has a large obstacle to it.

You see, Stephane lives in his head. Literally. In Stephane’s mind a never ending cable-access talk show is being broadcast, with himself as the host. Sometimes it helps him with his dreams, other times it serves as a forum for his inner chorus. But above all, Stephane spends so much time wrapped up in his own head that much of what he experiences comes of as something he is merely observing and not participating in. To further complicate things, Stephane is extremely creative, so much so that he often forgets where his flights of fancy end and the real world begin.

The Science Of Sleep was Michel Gondry’s first film after Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and it has often been labeled as a low-cost independent version of that movie. While I will admit the two films have their similarities, thematically they are pretty far apart. Where Sunshine is a discourse on the nature of memory and its relationship to whom we love, Science seems to be more about finding a balance between whimsy and maturity.

One thing I loved about the movie is the interactions between Stephane and Stephanie. As a pair, they seem perfect for each other – and yet the same things that are drawing them together are also keeping themselves apart.

Line of the Movie: “The brain is the most complex thing in the universe and it's right behind the nose.”

Four stars. Cheer up, you pile of sad.