{"id":457,"date":"2006-10-13T21:46:48","date_gmt":"2006-10-14T01:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/2006\/10\/13\/the-science-of-sleep\/"},"modified":"2023-03-28T13:37:54","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T17:37:54","slug":"the-science-of-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-science-of-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Much Reality: Michel Gondry’s The Science of Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Michel Gondry<\/a> is a treasure; endlessly inventive and thankfully prolific. His music videos (especially Bj\u00f6rk’s “Bachelorette<\/a>” and The White Stripes’ “Fell in Love With a Girl<\/a>“) and films (Human Nature<\/em> and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind<\/em>) are all personal favorites, with “Bachelorette” and Eternal Sunshine<\/em> especially moving me deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I found myself a tiny bit unsatisfied with The Science of Sleep<\/em>, despite its flood of original imagery and enthusiastic performances. For a movie that concerns the blending of fantasy with reality, I think the problem is that there’s too much<\/em> reality. Stephane (Gael Garc\u00eda Bernal<\/a>) experiences a smooth continuum between his waking and dream life, which his mother explicitly acknowleges as an actual condition, in other words, a mental illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the cold light of his mother’s diagnosis and his often hurtful behavior towards his crush Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg<\/a>), Stephane is less of a charmingly eccentric dreamer, and rather a sad case that could probably not have a successful relationship without medication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michel Gondry is a treasure; endlessly inventive and thankfully prolific. His music videos (especially Bj\u00f6rk’s “Bachelorette” and The White Stripes’ “Fell in Love With a Girl“) and films (Human Nature and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) are all personal favorites, with “Bachelorette” and Eternal Sunshine especially moving me deeply. But I found myself a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,2],"tags":[1515,1259,1258,505],"class_list":["post-457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-4-stars","category-movies","tag-1515","tag-charlotte-gainsbourg","tag-gael-garcia-bernal","tag-michel-gondry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/science-of-sleep-poster.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-7n","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1264,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/synecdoche-new-york\/","url_meta":{"origin":457,"position":0},"title":"All life’s a play in Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 26, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Whether it actually is or not, Synecdoche, New York has the feel of a very, very personal work of art. I know next to nothing about writer\/director Charlie Kaufman's personal life, and don't even necessarily feel like I do now. Then again, few people do know Kaufman, as he has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "5 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"5 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/5-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Synecdoche, New York","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/synecdoche-new-york-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/synecdoche-new-york-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/synecdoche-new-york-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/synecdoche-new-york-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/synecdoche-new-york-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1881,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/tokyo\/","url_meta":{"origin":457,"position":1},"title":"Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho’s Tokyo!","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Tokyo! is a portmanteau film comprised of three shorts set in the eponymous city, all by directors not themselves from Japan: Michel Gondry and Leos Carax from France, and Bong Joon-ho from South Korea. Gondry's \"Interior Design\" is based on the comic book Cecil and Jordan in New York by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Yu Aoi in Tokyo!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tokyo-yu-aoi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tokyo-yu-aoi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tokyo-yu-aoi.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tokyo-yu-aoi.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/tokyo-yu-aoi.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":915,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/be-kind-rewind\/","url_meta":{"origin":457,"position":2},"title":"Jack Black and Mos Def are misfit auteurs in Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind is a more mainstream effort than the personal and heartfelt The Science of Sleep, but still imbued with his signature handmade style and many of his particular (some might say peculiar) obsessions. The premise is brilliant in its simplicity: a pair of misfit doofuses accidentally\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Be Kind Rewind","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/be-kind-rewind-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/be-kind-rewind-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/be-kind-rewind-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/be-kind-rewind-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/be-kind-rewind-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1692,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/blindness\/","url_meta":{"origin":457,"position":3},"title":"A Disease Immune to Bureaucracy: Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Director Fernando Meirelles has examined desperate pressure cookers (City of God) and institutional corruption (The Constant Gardener) before. Blindness proves perfect to meld both themes, with a science fiction twist imagining the downfall of civilization itself. Blindness is part of a special subset of the horror\/sci-fi\/disaster genre: the dystopian end-of-civilization\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Julianne Moore in Blindness","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/blindness-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/blindness-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/blindness-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/blindness-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/blindness-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":320,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-july-16-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":457,"position":4},"title":"The Dork Report for July 16, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Update to the previous Dork Report: check out Joseph Arthur's new independent label Lonely Astronaut's official site. ThinkSecret throws some cold water on Apple fans' iPipe dreams. A slew of exciting new trailers: Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep, Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, and Pedro Almodovar's Volver.","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":616,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-9-worst-movies-i-saw-in-2007\/","url_meta":{"origin":457,"position":5},"title":"The 9 Worst Movies I Saw in 2007","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Just like Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Before Sunset, it's the sequel that no one asked for! After the warm fuzzies of yesterday's list of the Best Movies I Saw in 2007, it's time for a little meanspirited snark. I might be committing professional suicide for publishing this list, for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Movies"","block_context":{"text":"Movies","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/movies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spider-Man 3","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/spider-man-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/spider-man-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/spider-man-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/spider-man-3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/spider-man-3.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8398,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457\/revisions\/8398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}