To start off, I feel like I have to say that the fact that JACKASS 2, a film that hasn't much more depth than the depravity of self torture can completely overshadow the likes of a film such as MICHEL GONDRY's THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP, means there is seriously something wrong with my current state of mind.  Oddly enough states of mind is in fact almost wholly what THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP is about.

Both written and directed by the acclaimed director of ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND MICHEL GONDRY and starring GAEL GARCIA BERNAL (AMORES PERROS, BABEL) and CHARLOTTE GAINSBURG (21 GRAMS, LOVE, ETC.), THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP follows a young man named STEPHANE (GAEL GARCIA BERNAL) who since he was a boy has always felt more alive and free in his own mind than he does in the real world, which has left him ultimately unattached from those in the world around him.  Though after his Father dies and STEPHANE travels from Mexico (where he had lived with his Father) to France where his estranged Mother has set him up with a new "creative" job and apartment.  When STEPHANE moves into his new apartment he meets his new neighbor, a shy but quirky and creative woman by the name of STEPHANIE (CHARLOTTE GAINSBURG). This sends STEPHANE spinning into confusion over his childish dreams and his longing to be understood.  Yet with his new job not what he expected, STEPHANE begins to sink back into his fantasy world, leaving STEPHANIE to decipher whether STEPHANE is a misunderstood genius or just plain crazy!

In this reviewers mind THE SCIENE OF SLEEP is a brilliant and well laid out film, that captures almost too well the mind of the insanely creative, without having to rely on heavy CGI effects to do so. Not to say that there are no effects to show the inner workings of the mind of STEPHANE, but the effects used are a gallery of retro effects such as stop motion, and hand crafted props that are very visually entertaining.  Another of the most impressive styling of this film is the use of multiple languages without being completely subtitled. As STEPHANE being raised in Mexico but with a French Mother, can only speak very little and very poor French, so he consistently asks if his fellow workers know Spanish (which they don't) but do know English, so in the end it tends to be the universal language.  I found this a very enticing way to go about the "don't make the audience have to read too much" ideal, as well as an original concept on how to make an international film that still has appeal to an ignorant American such as myself.

GAEL GARCIA BERNAL definitely steals the film as the eccentric STEPHANE, a seeming natural at portraying the difference between how we dream ourselves to be and the realities and negative effects of such delusions.