Despite the Kaufman-free involvement, Gondry's follow-up to 'Eternal Sunshine' is as much a bizarre a specimen as it's predecessor, however just not as complex.
The plot itself is nothing too special (young man moves back home to be with his newly widowed mother and falls in love with his neighbour), however it's the complex nature of Stéphane's personality and his inability to often distinguish real life from his dreams that make this film a must to watch.
García Bernal is perfectly cast as Stéphane and and is able to keep us rooting for him, even when the character becomes selfish and even slightly unpleasant. Gainsbourg also holds extremely well as the love interest and it does raise the question as to why we don't see her in many other mainstream films (although to call the film mainstream may be slightly pushing it). The supporting cast also do a great job at helping us immerse into Stéphane's world, particularly Chabat's Guy, who's sex-obsessed eccentric almost steals the film at times.
But the real strength of the film comes from Gondry himself who's creativity has reached a new high. Stéphane's dream sequences stand out beautifully well through their use of stop-motion animation and cheap sets made from random objects, while his normal life is still full of wonderfully bizarre contraptions that seamlessly merge with his imagination. Even the little things stand out.
Despite being marketed as a comedy, I did find myself questioning this throughout the movie, particularly towards the end. While there is plenty of humour throughout, the film ultimately feels tragic because Stéphane is having this trouble in distinguishing what is real and what is his dream and a result he is unable to take life seriously enough. But again, this just shows how good a movie this was.
Overall this is a unique treat of a movie that will surprise many people with it's inventiveness and heart.
The plot itself is nothing too special (young man moves back home to be with his newly widowed mother and falls in love with his neighbour), however it's the complex nature of Stéphane's personality and his inability to often distinguish real life from his dreams that make this film a must to watch.
García Bernal is perfectly cast as Stéphane and and is able to keep us rooting for him, even when the character becomes selfish and even slightly unpleasant. Gainsbourg also holds extremely well as the love interest and it does raise the question as to why we don't see her in many other mainstream films (although to call the film mainstream may be slightly pushing it). The supporting cast also do a great job at helping us immerse into Stéphane's world, particularly Chabat's Guy, who's sex-obsessed eccentric almost steals the film at times.
But the real strength of the film comes from Gondry himself who's creativity has reached a new high. Stéphane's dream sequences stand out beautifully well through their use of stop-motion animation and cheap sets made from random objects, while his normal life is still full of wonderfully bizarre contraptions that seamlessly merge with his imagination. Even the little things stand out.
Despite being marketed as a comedy, I did find myself questioning this throughout the movie, particularly towards the end. While there is plenty of humour throughout, the film ultimately feels tragic because Stéphane is having this trouble in distinguishing what is real and what is his dream and a result he is unable to take life seriously enough. But again, this just shows how good a movie this was.
Overall this is a unique treat of a movie that will surprise many people with it's inventiveness and heart.