To me, and many more, Michel Gondry is a truly distinctive film maker who constantly finds a magnificent place between fantasy and reality and then visually brings it full of life to the cinema screen. He works on several levels, from tiny indie projects to films with bigger scope and tremendous impact such as ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, but also the underrated THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP. I’ve also been keeping an eye out on his upcoming project starring Audrey Tautou in MOOD INDIGO.
In-between the larger films, on those scatterings of short films and documentary, every production tends to have a moment when you sense his artistic vision shining through. Today, we wanted to share with you this insight into his mind and very specifically, his favourite VHS (now with additional DVDs) Store in Paris. He admits it was an influence for BE KIND REWIND but it’s also interesting to see how often he goes there and how much inspiration he gets not only from his visits, but from the owners and their knowledge of film. The short video below is called A Cinephile’s Labyrinth and is filmed at Vidéo Club de La Butte in Paris, France. Here he talks about Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, and Georges Méliès – the man who pretty much invented special effects in abundance back in 1902. Take a look, it’s magical:
Michel Gondry: A Cinephile’s Labyrinth on Nowness.com.
In the words of Gondry himself “Humor helps to swallow the harshness of life” and to me, that’s what makes his work so special. Keep an eye out on Michel on THN by just follow this link into his mind here.
Source: Nowness.com
