Science des rêves, La (2006)

Director:

Michel Gondry

Writer:

Michel Gondry (written by)

Release Date:

16 August 2006 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Close your eyes. Open your heart.

Plot:

A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.

Plot Keywords:

Language Barrier | Video | Female Nudity | Animal Costume | Construction Site

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Gael García Bernal	...	Stéphane Miroux
Charlotte Gainsbourg	...	Stéphanie
Alain Chabat	...	Guy
Miou-Miou	...	Christine Miroux
Pierre Vaneck	...	Monsieur Pouchet
Emma de Caunes	...	Zoé
Aurélia Petit	...	Martine
Sacha Bourdo	...	Serge
Stéphane Metzger	...	Sylvain
Alain de Moyencourt	...	Gérard (as Decourt Moyen)
Inigo Lezzi	...	Monsieur Persinnet
Yvette Petit	...	Ivana
Jean-Michel Bernard	...	Piano-playing Policeman
Eric Mariotto	...	Policeman
Bertrand Delpierre	...	Présentateur JT

Also Known As:

Arte del sogno, L' (Italy)
The Science of Sleep (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexual content and nudity.

Runtime:

USA:105 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

English | French | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS (US prints) | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Peru:14 | Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | South Korea:15 | Sweden:7 | Finland:K-7 | New Zealand:M | USA:R (certificate #42692) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Singapore:M18 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Australia:M | UK:15 | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:MG6 | Ireland:15A | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Norway:A

Filming Locations:

Chérence, Val-d'Oise, France

Company:

Partizan

Trivia:

Acquired by Warner Independent Pictures at 2006 Sundance for $6 million.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Stephane: ¡Un, dos, tres, cuatro!
[Stéphane plays the drums, then the piano, then moves the cameras. "Stéphane TV"]
Stephane: Hi, and welcome back to another episode of "Télévision 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 is 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.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

Soundtrack:

J'ai deux amours

a lot of eye candy, less heart candy

This movie had a lot going for it. The art direction was incredibly fun and creative, and overall the movie looked great and had a very unique vision. It was cute and quirky and definitely made me laugh out loud at times while at other times it made me feel awkward and tense in the best possible way.

The dream sequences were fun and blended with reality in a very seamless and engaging way (though on a personal level I prefer the way dreams were portrayed in Waking Life). And while on the surface the love story was thoughtful and true (and I could even relate to it in some ways), the problem for me was that I just couldn't sympathize with Bernal's character, Stéphane. I couldn't really see where Gainsbourg's character, Stéphanie, was coming from either. While their interaction was at times endearing, I just didn't feel like I had to root for them. Still though, there was enough charm in this movie that that fact didn't ruin the movie for me.