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Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Miou-Miou, Emma de Caunes ... see more see more... , Sacha Bourdo , Aurelia Petit , Pierre Vaneck , Stephane Metzger , Decourt Moyen , Miou Miou

Inventive Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry takes a surreal trip through the mind of an introverted but wildly creative man whose attempts to balance his colorful dreams wit... read more read more...h his stark reality are complicated by the arrival of a beautiful woman into his life. Shy St (C)phane (Gael Garca Bernal) has returned to his childhood hometown to accept a new job. When the prospective employment offer fails to live up to expectations, however, St (C)phane is at least comforted by the close bond he has formed with his creative-thinking neighbor St (C)phanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Their blossoming romance finally awakens the sleeping confidence that the withdrawn St (C)phane was previously capable of displaying only in his dreams, but St (C)phane and St (C)phanie find their relationship challenged when lingering insecurities prompt the smitten visionary to confront an old dilemma that can't be solved by the Science of Sleep. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

81% liked it

137,084 ratings

Critics

70% liked it

155 critics

R, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Michel Gondry

Release Date: June 18, 2006

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DVD Release Date: February 5, 2007

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Stats: 13,287 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (13,287)

  • groaningbitch
    July 19, 2011
    groaningbitch
    it's probably one of the most boring movies i've ever seen. i even booked preserved ticket to watch it in the theater, but it was so dull that i just kept falling asleep.

    what's so fun to watch gael garcia pretends there's an explosion within his drawings? are you just five-ye... read morear-old?
  • TomBowler
    March 28, 2011
    TomBowler
    Strange yet moving with a great performance from Bernal. Full review later.
  • jamers2011
    February 11, 2011
    jamers2011
    I really liked this movie! It's smart, funny, unique, creative, different....it's definitely one of the most unique films I have seen in a while. I loved the dream vs. reality concept and the different visuals that went along with that. The animation/puppet-esque sequences were e... read morextremely clever. It's one of my favorite things about the film.

    Gael Garcia Bernal gives a very good performance. He's very funny, but still serious and affective at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed his character. I also loved Charlotte Gainsbourg's character. She also gives a good performance and the two main actors have great chemistry together.

    This is a great film that I think everything should see. It's just a good, unique comedy. It's hard to follow at times, but it's very enjoyable and entertaining.
  • Tomassgringo
    December 18, 2010
    Tomassgringo
    I so enjoyed Gael Garc in other roles that I wanted to enjoy this movie more, but just could not! The constant switching of languages and campy effects wore thin for me fast. While I still like Gael.... this is at the bottom of the list of his movies for me!
  • 366weirdmovies
    September 4, 2010
    366weirdmovies
    A young man who trouble distinguishing waking reality from dreams falls in love with his next door neighbor. The dream sequences are interestingly conceived, but it could have used a stronger narrative to pull us along; we can't tell if Stephanie returns Stephane's affections be... read morecause most of their scenes are imagined, and the hero's crippling self-doubts make it hard to root for him.
  • ythelastman89
    April 11, 2010
    ythelastman89
    I think that I completely missed the point the first time I saw it, due to the fact that it can be a very confusing film to watch. It really shows you a look at the world of dreams and the imagination behind them. Michel Gondry's style is just as prevalent in this as it was in Et... read moreernal Sunshine, if not more so. I think I tended to write it off as a mess when it came to story when it really isn't. The multilingual script is a little disorienting, but I find it to be extremely realistic for the most part. I thoroughly enjoyed the love story and the fact that it wasn't as easy going as you might expect or be used to. The acting really plays well into that part, Gael Garcia Bernal is incredible and plays such a youthful and oddball person that you can't help but marvel at him. He's someone you can relate to and also admire in a lot of ways. Charlotte Gainsbourg does a perfect job at being an unsuspecting beauty, both physically and mentally. There are very few movies like this around, it's so unique in terms of storytelling and execution.
  • MeetMeinMontauk
    January 7, 2010
    MeetMeinMontauk
    Not nearly good as ESSM, but interesting nonetheless.
  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    Found it hard to watch, it took 2 sittings in the end and I never ever do that! That said, this is a really sweet film, a feature length music video into Gondry's imagination maybe, but rewarding in the end. It?s a three star film really but I'm giving it 4 because there are some... read more blink if you miss it golden nuggets hidden in this film that I only caught second time round. Watch it but make sure you're in the right frame of mind! (And can speak 3 different languages!)
  • ceWEBrity
    November 4, 2008
    ceWEBrity
    I want to bang Gael Garcia Bernal until he cries.

    That is all.
  • aliceinpunderland
    August 9, 2008
    aliceinpunderland
    Romantic and hysterical!

View All The Science of Sleep Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
September 29, 2006
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

The movie plays like an exhausted hallucination, disjointed and frustrating, much of it owing to the lack of chemistry Gondry allows between his stars. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
September 29, 2006
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

In the end, after your time with it, you'll recall it with a smile, remembering its childish wonderment and mischievous sense of humor. Full Review

Tom Long
September 29, 2006
Tom Long, Detroit News

It's all very cosmopolitan (the dialogue is English, French and Spanish), very independent, a wee bit juvenile and very confusing, of course. But The Science of Sleep is also remarkably magical and de... Full Review

Terry Lawson
September 29, 2006
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

The whimsy Gondry whips up soon goes wispy as we wait in vain for all this sweet-natured silliness to reveal a meaning that isn't transparently obvious. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
September 29, 2006
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

Gondry's creative breeze of a movie is fun while it lasts, and that's more than you can say about a whole lot of movies.

Michael Booth
September 29, 2006
Michael Booth, Denver Post

This determinedly nonlinear filmmaking tells the story more accurately than cinéma vérité ever could. Full Review

Chris Vognar
September 28, 2006
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

[Gondry's] passion for cinematic invention is giddy and palpable, with the rudimentary charms of fellow Frenchman and turn-of-the-century filmmaker Georges Melies. Full Review

Bill Muller
September 28, 2006
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

The film is wonderfully innovative. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
September 28, 2006
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

I loved Science, but in its final minutes I felt that I had a one-way ticket to a cul-de-sac. The scenery is something, though.

Colin Covert
September 28, 2006
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Pouring every impulse, inspiration and outlandish image at hand into his project, [Gondry] creates a dream world as visually delightful as it is merrily illogical. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Stephane Miroux: The brain is the most complex thing in the universe and it's right behind the nose.
    • Stephanie: Randomness is very difficult to achieve. Organization always merges back if you don't pay attention.
    • Stephane Miroux: Would you marry me when we are seventy? You have nothing to lose.
    • Stephane Miroux: This girl is at once all the women that broke my heart. She is so beautiful and generous and she is asking me to leave because she is dumping me. She is dumping me because I am a cheap drug dealer. And I am a drug dealer because she wants to leave me.
    • Stephanie: Things will turn out the way you want, if you could just stop doubting that I love you. Call me home.
    • Serge: A heart that sighs has not what its desire.
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The Science of Sleep Trivia

  • This sexy, talented actor has the following titles to his credit: "THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP", "STAGE BEAUTY", "Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN", "THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES" Who is he?  Answer »
  • What actor links the following films?? Science of Sleep Amores Perros Babel Motorcycle Diaries  Answer »
  • What other 'surreal' movie has Michel Gondry directed?  Answer »
  • Which Mexican born actor is seen in this clip of the movie "The Science of Sleep"?  Answer »
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