plastic movie wood movie bad movie good movie

Ok, Babel is terrible for a whole fat list of reasons. There are three stories, poorly woven together, with awful dialogue for the actors, who are put in situations we don't care about, because we don't care for the characters, so we don't care what happens to them. The story line with Brad Pitt is the central one, but at the same time I cared about it the least. The characters are hollow, as a viewer I have no way of connecting with them, I don't care if they have marital problems, I don't care if they lost a baby, I don't care if Cate Blanchett gets shot. I don't care if she lives or dies. I just don't care. I care more about the story that takes place in Mexico, though not that much more, and I suppose I care the most about the story that takes place in Japan, but even there, I only care because the actors actually put something into it instead of just dialing it in. There have been some amazing films by Mexican directors this year, and then Innaritu totally dropped the fucking ball by making this stinker. And THEN, some idiot critics decided it was good. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal for christsake, all are great actors, can be great actors, but they were so underused in this film it's almost criminal. They had nothing to work with. Ok, you write a story with a "message" about how the human family needs to listen to each other more, about how transcending culture and language and age and experience to gain some understanding of one another is no easy task, about how tragedy arrives when we are too busy thinking about ourselves and our small circle of influence to see the bigger picture, blah blah blah, yeah Alejandro, I get your message, but only because you slap me in the face with it. Your story is so dull, convoluted, unnecessary, you could have written a paragraph about your themes and it would have been more successful, and more entertaining. Blech.

BUT, today I saw 'The Science of Sleep,' and I am fulfilled. A cinematic masterpiece? Well, no, but with each film Michel Gondry directs, he's getting better (I confess I haven't seen the block party). This is the first film he's written as well, and it is completely delightful. And no, I am not one who normally brands things with the adjective 'delightful' and actually means it. But it's great. Gael Garcia Bernal is fantastic, and with Gondry's script, they create this character who is both completely charming and utterly flawed. He says things he shouldn't, reacts like a child, makes mistakes and then solves them with bigger mistakes, but he is real, and in the end, after all his mistakes, I still wanted him to end up with the girl. It is important to note that, unlike 'Eternal Sunshine,' in this film the plot is secondary. It is a fairly simple and straightforward love story, but as in many of my favorite films, the story is really there as a conduit for a visual extravaganza. The animated sequences are fantastic, the dreams/realities/fantasies all blend together in a way that is both familiar and completely insane. And even though they aren't central, the characters, acting, dialogue are all superb. In comparison with 'Babel,' I cared about ALL of the characters in 'The Science of Sleep,' even the minor ones. They are all written with such honesty and kindness, it is impossible not to care about them. The story arch is great as well, the pacing perfect, and it ends at exactly the point it should. And the final scenes are so poignant and touching, and so real, that they are almost painful to watch. It is obvious that Gondry loves these characters, and there is probably a lot of him in Stephane, the main character.

Yeah, so go see Science of Sleep (I think it's already been in and out of the theaters in the states, but you might find it on DVD?) and avoid Babel like the motherfucking plague.

Also, hooray, I moved flats today! I have a loft-style bunk-bed thing now, with a desk underneath, which is good fun and makes me feel like a little kid, or maybe my first year of college when I had the top bunk, except more sober. My new flatmates fed me, offered to get me high, and then played music for me on guitar and violin, and I am sure there must be something terribly wrong with them because it all just seems too lovely and perfect. They even make their own peanut butter. Seriously. Anyway, so far, so good.