听 Following wide acclaim for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, French director Michel Gondry turned out the similarly "silly, giddy and irrepressibly inventive" love story The Science Of Sleep. Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg act out bizarre fantasies in a film that generated buzz on the festival circuit, and appealed to moviegoers looking for something completely different.
Weird Science
Spectacular 'homemade' effects are at the heart of the film and, in a 40-minute Making Of documentary, Gondry lets us in on how he pulled it all off on a relatively low budget. Before the actors are called in, production starts on 70 stop-motion animation sequences at Gondry's holiday home in the mountains of France. A bare-chested Rastafarian builds the sets and the end result would make the presenters of Blue Peter blush. An entire city is erected from used toilet rolls, so it's no surprise when the loos become blocked and everyone is forced to work in 'pungent' conditions at the height of summer...
Finally, the shoot begins in earnest and Bernal immediately feels a little disorientated. "I couldn't understand him," he says of the director after their first meeting. Obviously little has changed by the time he arrives on set and is plunged into a tank of water (animations projected on a screen behind him) then forced to drive a little wooden car Flintstones style (injuring his knee). It's a wild ride for everyone involved, but fascinating to see how Gondry manages to turn his wackiest dreams into a mechanised, meticulously designed reality.
Animal Crackers
Lauri Faggioni was instrumental in designing and creating the fantasy animals and accessories that Gondry uses in his animations. She shows us around her workshop, explaining the ideas behind curious props, like a pair of glasses made of felt, 'sad flowers' and a cloth horse. "All my horses are called Heaven," she explains, which is fair enough really.
If you think Faggioni is a little strange, Linda Sebu is barking. Well, more 'miaowing' actually. She shows us around her Hollywood cat sanctuary and performs her rendition of The Velvet Underground's After Hours for a captive feline audience. (The lyrics were modified for a musical dream sequence in the film.) A separate featurette meets more fanatical cat lovers, who search the city for abandoned kitties. We wish we could say it keeps them off the streets...
Gondry, Bernal and Gainsbourg give commentary for the main feature. In fact it's better described as a stream-of-consciousness ramble, which seems apt for this film. Bernal recalls having to perform a lot of weird stunts that challenged his concentration as an actor. In particular, walking on sets that were mounted on springs and cushions made "...walking and talking at the same time, difficult..." Gondry mumbles about other logistical and creative challenges, but Gainsbourg seems content to sit tight and keep quiet. Perhaps she's just waiting to wake up from this crazy trip.
One thing's for certain, if you've had it up to the eyeballs with formulaic Hollywood rom-coms, this DVD will wake you from your stupor.
EXTRA FEATURES
The Science Of Sleep DVD is released on Monday 25th June 2007.
