I know it came out some time ago, but I only just got the chance to watch Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep. Let me just say: I regret waiting so long... Gael Garcia Bernal is WONDERFUL.
Stephane, the son of a femme francaise and an hombre mexicano, is a twenty-something who finds it hard to separate what is dream from what is reality. After the death of his father, Stephane moves to France when his widowed mother makes him believe she has secured for him a creative illustrating job at a calendar company. This, in fact, is a lie she concocts to bring Stephane closer to her, leaving him with a job he hates (pasting titles on the tops of calender pages), an undersized bed (the same bed he slept in as a child, complete with little boy-inspired trucker bed linens), and a gorgeously intriguing francaise neighbour named Stephanie (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg)- but wait a minute; that isn't really so bad. Stephane and Stephanie become extremely close, sharing their inspirations, creative ideas and inventions from one-second time machines, to water composed of scraps of colored cellophane surrounding a forest in a boat.
Stephane's dreams include an eight-inch electric razor with metallic spider legs that he uses to overtake his boss, who stifles his creative ideas; he and his co-workers dressed-up in animal suits while performing a song to woo Stephanie; and swimming through the sea of the city to deliver his apology letter to Stephanie, which turns out to be about the length of a novel and the size of a cardboard display project. In my personal favorite fantasy, Stephane's hands each grow to the size of a small child and he fights off the responsibilities of his job, including the post-it notes stuck to his flag pole fingers.
"Hi, and welcome back to another episode of 'Television Educative.' Tonight, I'll show you how dreams are prepared. People think it's a very simple and easy process, but it's a bit more complicated than that. As you can see, a very delicate combination of complex ingredients in the key. First, we put in some random thoughts. And then, we add a little bit of reminiscences of the day... mixed with some memories from the past. [adding in some pasta] That's for two people. Love; friendship; relationships... and all those 'ships,' together with songs you heard during the day, things you saw, and also, uh... personal... Okay, I think it's one," Stephane tells his viewers as a dream materializes in a puff of red smoke from his cooking pot.
Without giving too much away, I recommend the movie to anyone and everyone - whether you are the creative type; a wet blanket; a movie lover or a bookworm, you will be able to find something you can enjoy and relate to in this movie.
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