Waltz into another’s dream

“The Science of Sleep” Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg Directed by Michel… “The Science of Sleep” Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg Directed by Michel Gondry

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The concept of “The Science of Sleep” feels like it came to Michel Gondry in a dream. From the director of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” the film marks Gondry’s screenwriting debut.

Labeled as an “art film,” it’s more of an arts and crafts film. Though perhaps a platform for Gondry’s brilliant imagination over the story, “The Science of Sleep” is a beautiful, heartbreaking comedy.

The film opens with Stephane’s (Gael Garcia Bernal) dream world, where he is the host of “The Science of Sleep” on “Stephane TV.” Mixing things like paint and spaghetti into a pot as the dream ingredients, he explains that dreams are made from memories of the past as well as things that happened that day and are about “love, friendships, relationships and all of those ships.”

Soon, the new challenges in his life begin to manifest themselves during the dream sequences, and it’s amusing to recognize his dream logic in action.

Stephane is handsome, quirky and childlike, but his preference for the dream world and his detachment from reality soon become major problems. After his father’s death, Stephane returns to France from Mexico for a creative job at a calendar company.

Disappointed to find out that he is only a typesetter, Stephane shows his boss his portfolio for Disastrology, a calendar with an illustration of “a different disastrous event engraved in the public memory” for each month. Regardless of talent, Stephane has trouble expressing himself – he’s caught between the languages of French, Spanish and English.

The next complication arises when a girl with the same passion for invention and art moves in across the hall. Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) sews adorable things, like felt birds, and Stephane invents things like the one-second time machine, which he gives to her as a gift. When she asks why she deserves it, he explains: “Because for the occasion you are pretty.” Stephane has a connection with Stephanie, but a series of mishaps and misconceptions stand in the way of their romance.

“The Science of Sleep” combines stop-motion animation and live action to create Stephane’s dream world. The dream sequences are definitely a step up from Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” as Stephane swims through a sky made out of water with a swaying cardboard landscape beneath him.

Stephane and Stephanie even have a shared imagination while collaborating on an art project to make a forest inside of a ship. They both visualize the cotton puffs Stephane throws in the air to float as clouds in her living room, and they both excitedly run to the sink when Stephanie figures out how to make the sea – cellophane pours from the faucet before them.

Gondry uses the spirit of invention to make creative use of cardboard boxes, egg crates and shower curtains for the set of “Stephane TV.” Admirably, ordinary things create the vivid fantasy world: The one-second time machine, for instance, is nothing more than a children’s toy and a flashing light.

Near the halfway point, Gondry’s intent grows unclear. The audience can accept the romantic-comedy-fantasy love story without much character development, but we really know very little about them. Are we to believe that Stephane and Stephanie are in love, or that Stephane merely perceives it as such? We could dislike Stephanie for being able to hurt him, or we could accept that she’s only being rational. The confusion in “The Science of Sleep” applies to more than just interpreting dreams.

Stephane’s character has a unique psychology. He dreams about missing his father, but can’t talk about his difficulty with death. As the artist for Disastrology, he draws scenes like a colorful airplane wreck with cartoon bodies exploding in the sky as an alternative to coping.

“Stephane TV” branches directly from Stephane’s inability to communicate. He says that he cannot talk to his mother, and she points out that he has always looked to his dreams for comfort. Since he is the only viewer of “The Science of Sleep” (with the exception of the audience), he seems to take part in some kind of self-reflexive voyeurism to avoid his actual problems.

He’s also sexually immature and has no idea how to handle his love for his neighbor. His ongoing escape mechanism threatens his perception of reality and could ruin his chance with Stephanie.

The plot becomes troublesome during the last quarter of “The Science of Sleep.” The mood takes a dramatic turn for a comedy, continuing to be funny but making a transition from endearing to somewhat depressing. The distinction between reality and dreaming disappears, which puts the viewer in the same state of confusion as Stephane.

The dialogue is unique and silly, and the performances complement the world created for them. But the story itself comes in second in this visual masterpiece.

While the narrative structure begins to fall apart toward the end, it does nothing to undermine the fantastical enjoyment of “The Science of Sleep.”