NEWS FLASH

I had another two movie day. It’s disturbingly easy to sneak into films in Chicago, I’ve decided. The only theater so far where it’s really implausible is Landmark (due to their weird spiral mall setup).

So what’s the big newsflash? Well, today I saw a movie that was so wonderful, I can honestly say that it’s my favorite movie of 2006 so far. It’s called The Science of Sleep and it’s amazing. I had read a few reviews of the film before seeing it, and everyone seems to agree that it’s very good but also a trifle. Reviewers keep using the words “charming” and “whimsical” (which also happen to be two adjectives that usually keep me AWAY from a movie). Of course with the Gael Garcia-Michel Gondry double whammy, I had to see it - the movie is charming and whimsical to be sure, but it’s also wildly creative in a way that is almost never seen, even in experimental or animated films.

I liked Michel Gondry’s other collaborations, but it turns out that without the constraints of plot or character development, he can make a much better film. This movie exists almost completely within the imagination of the protagonist (who is obviously a stand-in for Gondry), so anything can happen at any moment. The dialog is brilliant and hilarious. I was smiling the entire time. It’s not just a light comedy though – Gael Garcia’s character is actually quite a sad person who doesn’t exactly have a terrible life, but has a crappily mundane one (except for the living-in-Paris part). Well, I guess people in Paris can be unhappy too. Honestly, this movie is one of the most fascinating trips into someone else’s head that I’ve ever taken, and I was enchanted with every second of it. Although I had plans to see Sherrybaby right afterwards, I seriously considered staying for a second viewing. The only reason I didn’t is because I’m going to see it again this week. We’ll see how it holds up the second time around.

Do you like how I’ve written about the movie for nearly a page without once mentioning how hot Gael Garcia Bernal is? Well, I wanted to claw my way through the screen to kiss him, etc. Nothing new there, he’s cute, whatever.

The next movie I saw was Sherrybaby, which was like a glass of cold water in my face after The Science of Sleep. It’s a great film in the “kitchen sink” style – dirty rooms, gritty scenarios, and a cast of extras who really look like junkies from a trailer park. Maggie Gyllenhaal is outstanding, so the movie works – it’s simply a 1.5 hour journey into her life, with its disturbing ups and downs. I would recommend this – but seriously, if you’re going to haul ass all the way to the movie theater, you really should see The Science of Sleep first…