THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP- The Power of Imagination... A Movie, An Exhibition
March 28, 2007
Michel Gondry is back again, opening wide the doors of his incredible dreamy parallel reality. The French director wrote and directed another masterpiece of fantasy, of genuine and childish astonishment for the wonder of life and love.Again, after the success of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" Gondry looks once again into relationships, always following a double track: reality as it really is and dreams as a space where we can reconstruct reality, and make it into what we would love. For the main character, Stephane Miroux (Gael Garcia Bernal), the line between real life and illusion is not clear. It is so blurry that sometimes there is no clear perception of which of the two prevails at any given moment. As the crazy host of an imaginary TV Stephane broadcasts reveries that involve his everyday life enveloping them in magic. He falls in love with his neighbour (Charlotte Gainsbourg who does not realize most of the movie he is her neighbour) and the element that unites them is the simple magic of a small handmade world. Sky, waves, ships, animals, trees and many other details are re-created with simple elements as paper and everyday home objects, and the two continue this simple and fancy game which allows them to discover one other. The story does not evolve into a fairy tale love story, as shyness and misunderstandings push them part and and put obstacles in the way. In the meantime scenes contain more and more spells and enchantments. |
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Genius and simplicity blend once more in Gondry's work, creating a digression into fantasy using really basic materials, far away as a conscious distancing itself from possibilities in special effects. To better explain the simple yet complicated scenarios Gondry invented, an exhibition was created and some of the movie sets gathered and presented them as sculptures and installations to let the visitor step literally in the movie universe. The name chosen was itself revealing..."Michel Gondry, The Science of Sleep An Exhibition of Sculpture and Creepy Pathological Little Gifts" |
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The exhibition started at New York Jeffrey Deitch Gallery last fall, and reached Milano during in January during Fashion Week period, hosted by Costume National Space. Through Mikado Film it is possible to download the video-visit of the exhibition with the director himself and Stephane Rosenbaum (set designer of the movie and exhibition curator)as guides. They both reveal some auto-biographic references in the plot. Theo Watson (video-designer) goes deeper in the functioning of the different objects. We really love to present the world of Gondry's dreams and fantasies, because it is so easy and comforting to see on the big screen the attitudes and dreams we love to cultivate. The simplicity of small details, the power of (day) dreaming, the faculty to imagine something sweeter and brighter when reality seems dark. There is also probably a warning in the plot of this movie, to be able to face reality through this filter without totally losing contact with it, thus avoiding the risk of letting precious things pass in front of you without grasping them. This movie tries to remind us that it is important to have the chance to get lost in those secret and bizarre rooms we as adults let too often closed inside. |
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