In the
ten years since winning an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay for his
surrealistic cult favorite "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,"
French filmmaker Michel Gondry has amassed one of the more eclectic
filmographies around—a collection of projects ranging from small-scale
documentaries such as "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" and the animated
Noam Chomsky film "Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?" to big-budget behemoths
like "The Green Hornet" (generally considered to be a disaster but
far more engaging and entertaining that its reputation might suggest) to such
cheerful oddities as "The Science of Sleep," "Be Kind,
Rewind" and "The You and the I."
With his
latest film, the quirky romance "Mood Indigo," Gondry has given
viewers one of his wildest and most fantastical cinematic visions to date.
The film is based on "Froth on the Daydream," a novel by the late Boris Vian
that, while largely unknown in America, has become one of France most popular
books since its 1947 publication. At first, it seems like a cheerful chronicle
of the swift romance that develops between Colin (Romain Duris), a rich young
man who spends his days developing inventions like the pianocktail (a piano/wet
bar hybrid that mixes and dispense drinks that are put together based on the
type and tempo of the music being played), and Chloe (Audrey Tautou). However,
Chloe takes ill on their honeymoon and it is determined that she has a water
lily growing in one of her lung and the only way to combat it is to surround
her with fresh flowers on a constant basis. In his efforts to save the love of
his life, Colin depletes his bankroll and is then forced to do the
unthinkable—get an actual job—but will his efforts be enough to keep her
alive?
Admittedly,
"Mood Indigo" is a film that will divide audiences between those who
will spark to its oddball charms and those who will be rubbed the wrong way by
the whimsy on display. Those who do fall under its spell will be charmed by the
delightful performances from its two leads as well as Gondry's visual style, a
distinct approach that favors an offbeat hand-made feel over the slick effects
of most other movies being made these days. At the same time, Gondry also
effectively negotiates the more emotionally tricky moments in the later part of
the story and by the time it reaches its tear-jerking conclusion, you may be
surprised how moved you are even as you find yourself wondering how you can go
about acquiring your very own pianocktail.
Recently,
Gondry got on the phone to talk about "Mood Indigo," the challenge of
bringing such a popular book to the screen and the changes that the film
underwent in its journey from France to America.
Although it is
not as well-known in America, Boris Vian's "Froth on the Daydream,"
the book that "Mood Indigo" is based on, has been an enormously
popular book in its native France since it was published in 1947. When did you
first encounter the book and what sort of impact did it make on you at the
time?
MICHEL GONDRY: I read
it, like most people in France, when I was in my late teens and it had a huge
impact. There was such freedom in the writing and something so pure about the
emotion. It said something about youth and being romantic and yet there was darkness.
All that had a great impact on me as well as the idea that there was no
difference between objects and animals or animals and people. It sent me back
to images that I had when I was a kid and I think it helped give me the freedom
to express ideas from my dreams and the feelings that I had.
In terms of
adapting the book to the screen, what were the challenges of telling a story
that combined your own unique cinematic vision to Vian's equally unique
literary vision?
Well,
there are two sides to it. On the one hand, everyone in France has read the
book and they each have their own vision of it. On the other hand, I was
inspired by it too and the way that I use images resonates with this world. Now
I am doing this adaptation and in it, I mixed ideas that were purely taken from
the book with ideas that came from myself and the two came together because
Vian's work and language is what influenced me to develop my own language. I
really wanted this movie to be personal even though it was taken from this very
important book and so I put a lot of myself in it.
In a way,
"Mood Indigo" forms the third part of a loose trilogy with your
previous films "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "The
Science of Sleep" in that they all deal with romance but in a somewhat
pessimistic manner. What is it about this sort of romantic pessimism that
interests you as a filmmaker?
It seemed
natural to me to want to express that in movies. I think that even in the
darkest parts of romantic history that I have encountered, I have always tried
to keep humor so it is not too heavy or painful. There is a combination of
romance and comedy that comes naturally for me.
In the case of this film, the early scenes,
featuring the growing romance between Colin and Chloe and the quirky world in
which they live in, are among the lightest and most cheerfully whimsical of your entire career. Towards the
end, however, the mood darkens considerably and the result of some of the
bleakest moments of your entire filmography. Was that severe shift in tone one
of the things that appealed to you in regards to making "Mood
Indigo"?
Yes. That
is how the book is and I really wanted to respect that in the film. The first
time I read the book, years and years ago, I envisioned it in color in the beginning
and black & white at the end. Much later, when I got the offer to do this
movie, I wanted to start it in color and finish it in black & white—that
was my very first idea in conceiving this movie, even before I was a director.
That is the sense when you are reading the book—that the color is draining as
the story progresses—and that is how I imagined the film.
"Mood
Indigo" is filled with any number of eye-popping sights that are made all
the more impressive due to the hand-crafted style that you employ that comes as
a blessed relief to the slick and soulless CGI
effects that are the rage these days. Of them, the most memorable is the
pianocktail, a contraption that is part piano and part bar that mixes and dispenses
drinks that are inspired by the music that one is playing at the time. Can you
talk about how this particular creation was designed and developed?
It was
all built—--none of it was done by computer. I am not saying that you could
drink what came out of it. Some of the things were triggered by the keys, such
as the lighting of some of the circuits going through it, and some were
triggered by remote control but everything was working. I like the idea of
creating objects that sort of take on a life of their own—to create objects
that combine elements from different areas like musical instruments and
liquids. All of that mixed together to create new stuff. For me, it is a bit
like David Cronenberg's movies where there are things that are mixtures between
machines and animals.
Can you talk about
the casting of Romain Durais and Audrey Tautou, two of France's more popular
actors, in the roles of Colin and Chloe?
To me,
they seem like the ideal French couple—they have the kind of quality. You
could see them doing many movies together. They help keep the film tied
together even during the times when it seems as if it might be getting absurd.
When "Mood
Indigo" premiered in France last year, it clocked in at a little over two
hours but for its release in the U.S. and other countries, it has been
shortened by nearly a half-hour. Can you talk about what has changed between
the two versions and what governed the decision to make those changes after its
initial release?
The
French version is very close to the book but for the American version, we decided
to focus more on Romain and Audrey by making it shorter. We had more time then
to edit it and when you are editing a movie, it tends to shrink and that is
what happened.