A simple romantic engagement that travels the (almost literal) rollercoaster of a relationship, dressed in an imaginative artistry that is quite indescribable with mere words, but I will try. This inventive kaleidoscope of colour and life that Michel Gondry has offered up with his latest surrealist vision is an overwhelming feast for the senses based on Boris Vian's cult French novel 'Froth On The Daydream'.

Now that I have sucked you in, be warned that there are two 'official' cuts of the film. The original 130 minute cut that was released in France, but also a much tighter, narratively focussed 94 minute cut that Gondry supervised along with a different editor in Tariq Anwar who cut The King's Speech and…

"This feeling of solitude is unfair. I demand to fall in love too!"

No one does surrealism better than the French, but unfortunately I'm not into surrealism and I usually have a hard time enjoying this genre in general. Mood Indigo is probably more surreal than any other film you've seen before, and despite the fantastic visuals and rich imagery used I had a hard time engaging with the characters and its lack of a strong narrative story. I was a huge fan of director, Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and despite the surrealism in that film I enjoyed the strong narrative along with the romance, but I guess a lot of that had to do with…

Performances: 6.7/10
Story: 2/10
Production: 6.3/10
Overall: 5/10

Hello disappointment, it's been a while!

Since first seeing the trailer for Mood Indigo what feels like years ago, I've been anxiously waiting for Michel Gondry's latest to be released in America. Now that I've finally got around to watching it I just feel nauseated.

It's not that it was "so bad it was good" it's that it was so over-the-top weird that it became painful to watch. From the very first scene it was apparent that the quirk knob was dialed up to 10 and I don't think it ever backed off once. There were numerous stop-motion sequences of moving food, strange doorbells and self-tying, leg-twisting shoes. None of this services…

I hyped this up a fair amount. Watching the trailer about forty thousand times a day leading up to the DVD release probably didn’t give Mood Indigo any chance of being half as good as how I perceived those two minutes of filmy-wilmy heaven to be. Not to say it was bad. Far from it, infact. I caught my mouth falling open just seconds in. Whether the shock was due to the quality of the opening or the fact that I was actually watching the proper, full, self-predicted cinematic odyssey, I can’t recall.

It’s hard to define the story when so much happens visually. It’s easy to get lost in all the morphing rooms, insect door bell, spinning food and…

Added to: Michel Gondry Ranked & 2013 Ranked

Michel Gondry is a visual surrealist of the highest order and if Mood Indigo proves anything, it’s that his inventiveness is seemingly endless. Where the story of the film tells of a rather simple, albeit unusual love story, the film as a whole is a visual clusterfuck that feels as if it wants to live a life of its own outside the film as well. There are so many little things hidden in every little frame that are a joy to behold and keep things entertaining throughout but they also tend to become little hindrances to the greater story. In fact, the film's length runs over two hours and each second is more…

Michel Gondry is one of the most inventive and creative directors alive.
His unique style is his trademark, and often times his wonderful in camera tricks make wonderful addition to films.

The problem with Mood Indigo, as opposed to his other films that used this style, is that he usually knew how to hold himself back and use it in the right places.
Weather it was the "sweding" of known movies in Be Kind Rewind, or using his style to showcase the dreams of his characters in Science of Sleep and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, they had a place in the story, and felt necessary to the film.

But in Mood Indigo, there is never a sense of…

Like much of Michel Gondry's work, style is at the forefront of Mood Indigo, an adaptation of Boris Vian's cult novel L'Écume des Jours. The story, set in a surreal, part 1940s/part sci-fi future version of Paris, focuses on the romance between the well-off Colin (Romain Duris) and his doomed sweetheart Chloé (Audrey Tautou). Their Paris is like Pee Wee Herman's Puppetland. It is a fantastical place where food dances, pianos make cocktails, and it can be rainy and sunny in the same spot. How Gondry creates a visually stunning, playful Paris without CGI effects is impressive; however, the overextravagant art direction eclipses the story and its characters. Everything is sadly underdeveloped. The supporting characters (Omar Sy, Gad Elmaleh) are…

This review originally appeared on ViewLondon (RIP).

Comedy / drama, directed by Michel Gondry and based on the cult novel (Froth on the Daydream) by Boris Vian, starring Romain Duris as a wealthy inventor who falls in love with a beautiful girl (Audrey Tautou), only for her to be struck down by an unusual illness.

Breath-takingly imaginative and beautifully designed, this is an engaging, funny and ultimately moving love story, though the non-stop visual invention and effects work are exhausting to watch.

What's it all about?

Directed by Michel Gondry and adapted from the 1947 cult novel Froth on the Daydream by Boris Vian, Mood Indigo (L'écume des jours, original title fans) stars Romain Duris as Colin, a wealthy inventor…