The Science of Sleep

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The Science of Sleep

R

2006

1h 45m

Comedy

Drama

Fantasy

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

163 Reviews

81%

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100,000+ Ratings

Soon after the death of his father, a distraught young man (Gael García Bernal) begins a job as a graphic designer, but has little chance to create. His intense dreams begin to overtake his waking life and he becomes increasingly caught up in flights of fancy. His hyperactive imagination then begins to interfere with his courtship of a pretty neighbor (Charlotte Gainsbourg).

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Critics Consensus

Lovely and diffuse, Sleep isn't as immediately absorbing as Gondry's previous work, but its messy beauty is its own reward.

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Brian Tallerico

UGO

A creative, original work by a filmmaker with a fantastic visual flair who refuses to stick to any typical cinematic patterns, even if it's sometimes to a fault.

Mar 24, 2007

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Wendy Ide

The Times (UK)

Gondry always manages to maintain a childlike wonder in the magic of creating a moving image, and never is it more evident than in this film.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 16, 2007

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Nick Curtis

London Evening Standard

It's all lovely to look at, but becomes progressively wearisome.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 16, 2007

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Rosa Parra

Latinx Lens

A bold film that's elevated because of Bernal's unexpected stellar performance.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 15, 2021

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

I dare say that years from now The Science of Sleep will be seen as a daring, bold and visionary film.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 22, 2020

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David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Science of Sleep is almost overstuffed with visual delights. If you can sit through it once, you may get hooked and have to drag yourself away from the theatre, the way Stephane has to drag himself out of bed.

May 12, 2020

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Victorine B

Weirdly beautiful. It made me empathize with the main character because he was so lost in his mind but he stilled love her. It was the first Michel Gondry's film I watched, and I'll definitely watch more of them.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/04/25

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Test T

I watched some of this on DVD recently. I knew very little about it, except that it seemed unusual. Sadly, despite having English language case art, the film is mostly French with English subtitles. The French-ness dosent stop there either, with the film having a generous quota of cringe inducing French smut as well. I carried on watching, just in case I've got them all wrong, but I haven't. It's not my kind of film, and I just know I'm not enjoying it. If you are French, or speak French you might like it, but it's not for me and after 40 minutes or so I'd had enough, and switched it off. In the interests of fairness I've given it a neutral 2.5 stars, but I can't recommend it.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/25

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Audience Member

Gondry's work is as usually smart, intricate and touching. Mindbreaking production with lots of artefacts made physically instead of using computer technology adds to a surrealistic feeling of a dream happening.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Audience Member

I'm not sure exactly what I think of this movie. It definitely has a unique visual style merging stop-motion animation with live action and the characters are engaging and charming. There's even a charming storyline about a love struck young man, trapped in a dead end job who escapes into a fantasy dream world where his imagination comes to life but I found the plot jarring and disjointed. I kept willing for something to tie the story together but it rather failed to do so and, as a whole, the movie is a bit of a miss, entertaining though it may be.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

This reminds me of my childhood all this excitement and creativity we used to have back those days , this movie is so well designed and directed according to its title that this really seems real yk.It has this beautiful feeling that may be every viewer share in the credits I was smiling and crying at the same time , it is beautiful and if you ever feel down in your life watch this movie it remind you all the good stuff about life.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

Poignant insight into your mind my love

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Michel Gondry

Director

Gael García Bernal

Stéphane Miroux

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Stéphanie

Alain Chabat

Guy

Miou-Miou

Christine Miroux

Pierre Vaneck

Monsieur Pouchet

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Synopsis

Soon after the death of his father, a distraught young man (Gael García Bernal) begins a job as a graphic designer, but has little chance to create. His intense dreams begin to overtake his waking life and he becomes increasingly caught up in flights of fancy. His hyperactive imagination then begins to interfere with his courtship of a pretty neighbor (Charlotte Gainsbourg).

Director: Michel Gondry
Producer: Georges Bermann, Michel Gondry, Frederic Junqua
Screenwriter: Michel Gondry
Distributor: Warner Independent
Production Co: Gaumont, France 3 Cinéma, Partizan
Rating: R (Nudity|Language|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 22, 2006, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 2, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.7M
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS

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