Before Michel Gondry can use his own voice in a movie, he should learn English pronunciation. The "film" would've been a bit more tolerable if he simply had kept the camera on Chomsky's face and let him talk, instead of cutting away to idiotic doodles while he himself comments on it incomprehensibly. Early on in the movie Gondry says, "My English is so bad." That ain't no lie! Between his unintelligible accent and Chomsky's monotonous drone, I fell asleep. And that's a pity, because it is always compelling to watch Chomsky, one of the finest intellects of modern times and a keen observer of American civilization. It must have seemed like a bright idea to visually dissect Chomsky's notions on linguistics, religion, philosophy, and other topics, but unfortunately this is a wasted opportunity, as there was no rigor applied to match the respect the filmmaker obviously felt for his subject. What we have here is an example of utter self- indulgence that Gondry should share only with his family and friends - if they can stay awake.
Review of Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?
