The Science of Sleep Review

Hard to say what his intentions were exactly -- I would disagree if you were to say he didn't want it to be romantic and I would definitely disagree if you were to say he didn't want it to be funny, but you're right that it's not a romantic comedy.

Personally, I thought the ending was hopeful. Perhaps I am just deluding myself, but I found it a more optimistic ending than Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a film that I respect very much but find it harder and harder to watch, knowing how bleak some of it is.

Why would you describe the ending as "optimistic", Tyler? I felt by film's end it was pretty clear that Stephane was a troubled individual unable to sustain a true relationship for lack of being able to maintain a coherent grasp on consensual reality. And I think Stephanie, at first attracted to him, ended up essentially repulsed by what was clearly his inability to function meaningfully in the "real" world. IMHO, of course.

I dunno, I guess I have to assume that Stephane missed his plane, and perhaps that led to a future that resembles the last dream that he was having. I guess even if the ending is not neccessarily optimistic, I would say that it doesn't abandon all hope. Since we are not given a definitive ending in the real world, I would say that leaves things open for interpretation.

Plus, while Stephane overreacts at the end, he and Stephanie do start to have a nice conversation before then.

***SPOILER ALERT***

I agree Tyler. It's totally a choose your own ending of a resolution. IMO, as I am an optimist, I also think he missed the plane and Stephanie sort of took pity on him while stroking his hair.

His dream of them heading off into the sunset, in their boat and their horse is a reflection of their future together - at least their immediate future. Since his dreams often mimic reality, this makes sense to me. But then again, I'm not nearly as intelligent as Gondry.

~Drewbacca
MoviePatron.com

I just saw the film today, and in now reading the reviews, I'm stunned at the fact that almost NOBODY understands this film (except for the Ain't It Cool New reviewer).

The entire film hinges on the fact that, about 80% of the way through the film, it becomes clear to the viewer that Stephane is seriously mentally ill and is increasingly falling apart. He's not just artistic and quirky, which is the initial setup. He is deeply mentally ill, and has failed an experiment set up by his mother to try to live on his own.

The film is the view, through his eyes, of the world during a time when he and everyone around him discover that he is sadly incapable of living anything like a normal life.

Once you understand this fact, everything else in the film makes sense. The film isn't messy or incomprehensible -- every scene, every line and every characterization that seemed a little strange or "off" earlier in the moview -- makes perfect sense when you realize that (almost) everyone in the movie KNOWS they are interacting with, and subtly taking care of, a mentally disabled person.

Stephane comes to Paris after his father's death NOT because his mother wants him closer to her -- it's because he CANNOT live alone, he is mentally incompetent. Remember how the cleaning lady lets him into the building and is so friendly and welcoming -- a little over the top friendly -- and she says quickly in passing "your mother will take care of the bills" -- a comment which goes unremarked further by Stephane or herself.

Stephane's mother has set him up with an apartment in a building that she owns. She has fixed him up with a menial clerical job -- because that's all he can handle. He says "she lied to him" that it was an "artistic" job -- and she may have -- but he's not capable of handling anything more than a very basic menial job.

All his co-workers are aware that he is mentally disabled. That's why they put up with his showing up late, or not coming to work at all. That's why they do his work to 'cover' for him -- all of them, including his boss, know that he's mentally disturbed. All of the coworkers behave a little strangely towards him -- a little too friendly, informal and almost parental -- because that's how people often behave towards someone who's mentally unstable.

Stephane's older male co-worker takes him under his wing, does his work for him, gives him advice, and magically shows up at a bar where Stephane goes with two girls, dancing and keeping an eye on Stephane. Why? Because everybody is in cahoots to quietly take care of Stephane, make sure he's looked after.

Stephanie, the woman next door, initially laughs at Stephane and makes fun of him because at that early point she DOESN'T KNOW that he's "the landlord's son" -- she thinks he's some "dumbass" guy from the street with no social skills.

But once Stephanie recognizes who he really is -- Stephane's mother has obviously told her about his condition -- she is unfailingly nice and tolerant, even playing along with his little fantasies. And sadly it's her niceness that ends up making things worse, as Stephane gets a crush on her but is completely unable to act as a semi-normal boyfriend, and he ends up behaving more and more strangely.

He creates magical machines that read minds and cause time travel, and he makes a toy horse magically walk on its own -- but of course, he doesn't REALLY do any of those things. Stephanie plays along with his fantasies because she's being kind to him.

Remember at the party -- Stephane's mother says to Stephanie with strong emphasis, "You've a Very Nice Person." That isn't what you say to your son's girlfriend -- it's what you say to people who are kind enough to befriend and be tolerant of your mentally disabled son.

And the scene in the movie where Stephane's mother suddenly moves back into "his" apartment -- there's no explanation given for that scene? It's because at that point in the narrative, he is clearly becoming more and more divorced from reality and unable to act appropriately. She has to move into the apartment to personally see to his welfare.

The second half of the movie becomes increasingly bizarre because Stephane himself is falling apart. Sadly, instead of being able to thrive in this little safe niche world his mother has created for him, he proves that he is unable to perform even the most basic tasks -- showing up for work, befriending people without frightening them.

When he finally injures his head badly by banging it on Stephanie's door in panicked frustration -- that's the final turning point. His mother realizes that he simply can't stay there, and he can't live this life. She arranges for him to go back to Mexico -- where, to other family or an institution -- we don't know.

Overall -- it's a brilliant movie -- my only criticism is that it was obviously too subtle because most of the people who see it don't get the fact that it's a view of life through the eyes of an increasingly mentally disturbed person. The movie's surreal nature isn't an accident or illogical, and it isn't the lack of screenwriting skill. It's a very intentional view of the world through the eyes of a mentally disturbed person, who's the only one in his little universe who DOESN'T know that he is mentally unbalanced.

Ok Ok.
I get it now ... pft. Ever heard of interpretation? Why explain the story for everyone else? I enjoy individuality in all its forms. Including misinterpretation to a degree. Do you feel sorry for the rest of us or what? I had a similar interpretation but why explain the entire story when you could write you own narrative with the same amount of sentences. UGH!

I agree with Noah's comment regarding interpretation. Although KH supplies evidence for his "Mentally Disturbed" theory I am not completely convinced that all characters are acting together in order to help Stephen. Although I do agree that Stephen is not perfectly stable. His problem is that he mixes up dreams and reality.

I think we must go back to the first scene of the movie when Stephen describes the ingredients of a dream: Past thoughts, the day's ruminants, music, love, etc... I think the splatter paint art in the opening credits should not be overlooked. To me, this art signifies the randomness and unpredictable nature of how a dream's ingredients work their way into the dream itself and ultimately interact. We see this in the opening dream: Stephen corrects his father by pointing out that he said Duck instead of Duke in referring to the artist putting on the concert. Where does Duck come from? About fifteen minutes later we meet Stephen's older-male co worker who says something along the lines that this year's calendar involves Ducks.

There are many more examples where background noise/objects work their way into Stephen's dream (cellophane in boxes, the horse on Stephanie’s shelf, electric razor he uses, the leather jacket with pins that awkwardly appear on his co worker etc). Here, the director highlights how easily concrete objects can enter the subconscious.

I think the main point of the movie is the ability for subconscious thoughts or dreams to enter into our reality and change us as a person. Director does this via the extreme example of Stephen’s dreams getting caught in the mix of his reality.

Although I believe Stephen does interact with Stephanie in reality, I think he falls for her in his dreams and creates things that she did that she never did in reality. He creates things that are not there, and molds her reactions to his gifts in a way favorable to his obsession with her. For example, when he suggests she put a forest in her boat, he ultimately makes a leap of how he should make a film using cellophane. He gesticulates with his hands and she automatically knows exactly what these gesticulations mean and agrees with him and knows exactly what he is talking about. A reasonable person like Stephanie, would be confused about this illogical leap. Although she is artsy, I find it hard to believe that she would understand Stephen’s seemingly illogical leap. I think this is the first major example where Stephen starts mixing up his dreams with reality. His subconscious enters into realty here.

He is aware of his “sickness” of incorporating dreams into his reality. When he walks with his co worker to drop the TV off the bridge, the co worker’s dialogue all of a sudden goes to gibberish, and Stephen smacks him to make sure “I [Stephen] was awake.” I also think this scene conveys the illogical nature of dreams: Other than in a dream, would someone throw a perfectly working TV, with a co-worker, into a river and then comment that it floats?

I think the second to last scene is one of the most powerful of the film (when he sits on the balcony with her after the guy below is lit on fire by his cigarette). Stephen’s dialogue is strictly a stream of conscious influenced by events that occurred previously in the movie. His suggestion for her to touch the back of her ear and glasses illicit an awfully similar reaction to the trick Stephanie shows Stephen early in the movie which involved rubbing fingers when palms were touching. His statement about his blue jeans also follow illogical statements that we make in our dreams, statements that just makes sense to us for no reason. Also in this scene, Stephanie’s dialogue suddenly turns into gibberish (maybe even Chinese) when she yells down after the pedestrian is drenched in water. This is another illogical example.

I think a powerful characteristic of the film is its ability to confuse the audience in a way that dreams confuse us when we wake up in the middle of the night or try to explain a dream to a friend and just cant. My interpretation of the final scene, when they are in the boat is as follows: I think it signifies Stephens lost cause. He is on an imaginary boat, experiencing an imaginary/false feeling of love that Stephanie does not have for him. He is a lost cause and goes out to La La land. He enjoys Stephanie more in his subconscious rather than his conscious. In his subconscious/dreams he can manipulate her or mold her into the person he wants her to be like.

Well spoken KH. I've also read so many reviews and felt that all their criticisms showed that they just didn't get it. I feel much better after reading your post, and you picked up on quite a bit that I didn't too.

CJ

This movie was awesome! And that's as far as i'll take it. Just because it is off the beaten trail doesn't mean it has to be explained to death....just enjoy it!