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The Science of Sleep

The Science of Sleep

Comedy · Drama · Fantasy · 2006

A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.

Movie details

The Science of Sleep

“Close your eyes. Open your heart.”

2006 Comedy · Drama · Fantasy 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Science of Sleep?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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A has-been French filmmaker wants a Hong Kong actress to be the heroine in a rendering of Les Vampires.

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Daaaaaalí!

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A young French journalist repeatedly meets iconic surrealist artist Salvador Dalí for a documentary project that never came to be.

Three Colors: White

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Polish immigrant Karol Karol finds himself out of a marriage, a job and a country when his French wife, Dominique, divorces him after six months due to his impotence. Forced to leave France after losing the business they jointly owned, Karol enlists fellow Polish expatriate Mikołaj to smuggle him back to their homeland.

Waking Life

Waking Life

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Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.

Pink Narcissus

Pink Narcissus

Fantasy · 1971

An outrageous erotic poem focusing on the daydreams of a beautiful boy prostitute who, from the seclusion of his ultra-kitsch apartment, conceives a series of interlinked narcissistic fantasies populated by matadors, dancing boys, slaves, and leather-clad bikers.

Tideland

Tideland

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Because of the actions of her irresponsible parents, a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination.

La Vénus électrique

La Vénus électrique

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Artist Antoine has lost all inspiration and slipped into alcoholism since the death of his wife Irène, a loss he blames himself for. Suzanne is a penniless sideshow performer pretending to be a clairvoyant, whom Antoine consults in a bid to connect with Irène. Antoine’s dealer Armand, desperate to keep Antoine from falling apart, urges Suzanne to keep the ruse alive. She stages a series of improvised hypnosis sessions, claiming she can channel Irène in exchange for having her debts paid by Armand.

Band of Outsiders

Band of Outsiders

Crime · 1964

Cinephile slackers Franz and Arthur spend their days mimicking the antiheroes of Hollywood noirs and Westerns while pursuing the lovely Odile. The misfit trio upends convention at every turn, be it through choreographed dances in cafés or frolicsome romps through the Louvre. Eventually, their romantic view of outlaws pushes them to plan their own heist, but their inexperience may send them out in a blaze of glory -- which could be just what they want.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michel Gondry

Written by

Michel Gondry

Gael García Bernal

Gael García Bernal

Stéphane

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Stéphanie

Miou-Miou

Miou-Miou

Christine Miroux

Alain Chabat

Alain Chabat

Guy

Emma de Caunes

Emma de Caunes

Zoé

Aurélia Petit

Aurélia Petit

Martine

Sacha Bourdo

Sacha Bourdo

Serge

Court is in session

Put The Science of Sleep on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.