Mood Indigo

Michel Gondry has to be one of the weirdest Frenchies that has ever graced this planet; and trust me when I say that that's saying something! He uses stop motion animation to recreate the bizarre images in his head and in the process he creates this unusual world where clouds can be a mode of transportation and people can manipulate time by simply using normal everyday household items. In fact I was so inspired by his films, that I once tried building my own time travel device by using an old rotary dial telephone, duck tape, and wire, that I was going to give to my girlfriend at the time. But sadly she had never seen the movie The Science of Sleep, so she didn't get it, she thought I was weird, and eventually she broke up with me. But now she's rich, married, and living in Seattle versus that of being poor and living in the hipster ghetto of Austin; so it looks she made the right choice after all. Damn you Michel Gondry!

Anyway, since Sleep, Gondry was talked into making two horrible films in Be Kind Rewind (Jack Black) and The Green Hornet (Seth Rogen) in the hopes that it would help break him into the American mainstream. Thankfully though they both bombed and he's now back to doing what he does best and that's making love stories for weirdos. And in Mood Indigo, it looks like they took the reigns completely off of him and the results couldn't be any better.

With Mood Indigo, Gondry shows you a different side of Paris. Yes, it's still the city where everyone loves to eat, drink, party, and fall in love but in this version pianos can make cocktails, mice are a man's best friend, and computers aren't made up of processors and chips; they are made up of little humans that are making calculations. There is so much going on in every scene that's it's nearly impossible to keep up. Every dinner is an adventure as each course literally comes to life just as it's about to be presented to it's diners. At dance parties, people basically turn into Plastic Man as their limbs grow to unbelievable lengths. And there are also see through limos and go kart races to determine who is truly worthy to be married that day. And the best part of it all is that there is an actual story to goes along with this visual orgy.

In this odd world you meet Colin, a rich Frenchman who spends his days hanging out with his best friend Chick and his lawyer/chef friend Nicolas. They live life to the fullest by chasing women, inventing these weird creations, and eating the best foods that this world has to offer. But one day Colin realizes that everyone in his life has fallen in love but him. So Nicolas's girlfriend decides to set him up with the beautiful Chloe (Audrey Tautou). After a few weird exchanges, they realize that they were meant for one another and they eventually get married. But soon after they are married, Chloe becomes sick with a rare disease; one where a flower is growing in her lungs.

So as you can see the weirdness continues, which is pretty much on par for a Gondry flick. This is an unbelievably funny movie, it's just that it's subtitled and they talk so fast, you kind of have to be on your toes to follow the words and all of the action that's happening on screen. Even during one of the film's saddest moments, there's still a scene a two that is thrown in to hopefully make you smile, but what's happening is so brutal that you feel awful for even wanting to laugh. And that's part of what makes this the quintessential French love story, it runs you through the full gamut of emotions. The first half makes you fall in love with Paris, the French way of life, and even love itself but the second half reminds you what life is really like and it makes you never want to fall in love at all. And I love the fact that Gondry is so adept at changing the mood and the tone of the film by simply using lighting and the set that the actors almost become the backdrop to the story. Almost.

Tautou can light up a room all by herself with her wonderful smile and her petite presence. And Gad Elmaleh (Nicolas) makes you wish that everyone could afford their own lawyer/chef. But really, all of the actors are great and every character leaves an impression on you. I absolutely loved this film and I give it a rating of kind of TIGHT!