Movie Review- The Science of Sleep

There are only a couple of movies that I find truly unique, and The Science of Sleep, a strange but heartwarming French film, has been recently added to that list. The plot follows Stephane, a young man who was raised in Mexico and just had his father die of cancer. His mom tells him she has found him a creative job back in France, where she lives, and asks him to move in with her. In hopes of putting his artistic skills to use, he gives in to his mother's wishes and later finds that his job actually consists of cutting and pasting boring formats in calendars. The peculiar thing about Stephane is that he has very vivid imagination and often finds himself mixing up his dreams with reality. We repeatedly see his action packed dreams express his feelings for the outside world, especially when he finds himself falling in love with his almost equally peculiar neighbor.

If it wasn't for the constant changing of languages throughout the movie (english and french are spoken the most, but there is also some spanish thrown in), I think audiences of all ages would find themselves enjoying this movie, but for different reasons. Children would obviously love the colors and imagery in Stephane's dream sequences, and the older audiences would enjoy the charm and humor of the movie. Stephan in particular is a very likable character portraying childish and awkward characteristics that most of us can relate to.