Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

The Science of Sleep

Play trailer Poster for The Science of Sleep R Released Sep 22, 2006 1h 45m Comedy Drama Fantasy Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
71% Tomatometer 164 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 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).
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

The Science of Sleep

The Science of Sleep

What to Know

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (1000+)
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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Audience Member Poignant insight into your mind my love Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Science of Sleep

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Movie Info

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
Most Popular at Home Now