This is a film that came out of nowhere, I wasn't even aware that Gondry had another film coming up this soon. His last fictional film is one that only took one viewing to make me fall in love with it. That film was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Yeah, I know, the title is something of a mouthful, but the film is original, intelligent, sweet, and incredibly entertaining. It starred Jim Carrey as a man who undergoes a procedure to erase an ex-girlfriend from his memory. Enough about that.
The trailer puts the strange and bizarre front and center, starting with Stephane, the cooking show host, calling himself, waking him from his slumber. There are glimpses of other strangeness including cardboard cars, Stephane swimming through the air, and his inability to interact with others. It displays a wonderful visual style which belies the sweetness it is sure to contain.
Bernal is an incredible actor, one who is worth seeing in whatever he is in, at least so far. This outing does not appear to be any different. Also in the cast is Charlotte Gainsbourg, as Stephane's love interest, Stephanie.
The trailer is up at Apple, including a high definition version. The Science of Sleep is being distributed by Warner Independent Pictures. The movie is scheduled to open on September 22, 2006 in limited release.