TheRetroCritic

Taking another break from Hollywood filmmaking, director Michel Gondry follows Mood Indigo with Microbe Et Gasoil (Microbe & Gasoline), a coming-of-age story about two young boys building a makeshift car of sorts and travelling around France. Newcomers Ange Dargent and Théophile Baquet play the titular leads and the playful friendship their characters form is both real and touching. You're never quite sure where the film is going and, while it could have easily developed into a love story, it instead reveals itself to simply be a film about rebellion and growing-up. Gondry takes a step back this time and doesn't add in his own brand of surreal storytelling and practical effects. The only unusual part of the film being the house/car the teenagers drive throughout. Microbe Et Gasoil taps into a specific feeling most of us can probably relate to, that is the reluctance to be different, to grow-up and the dream of one day just setting off on an adventure with no plans of

After his sci-fi romantic comedy Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind looked at how memories can affect matters of the heart, Michel Gondry then directed The Science Of Sleep , another bittersweet rom-com, this time focusing on the world of dreams. This feels much more like a French film than Eternal Sunshine with Gael Garcia Bernal being the only non-European cast-member and the likes of Alain Chabat (who steals every scene he's in), Charlotte Gainsbourg, Miou-Miou and Emma de Caunes forming the rest of the cast. This is something which actually works to the film's advantage since Garcia Bernal's Stephane is a bit of a fish-out-water as he moves into his mother's old apartment in Paris despite not knowing anyone or speaking French very well. Hence why Stephane constantly seeks refuge inside his dreams and through his imagination. Unfortunately, that all backfires slowly but surely as he starts to confuse his dreams with reality, which is clearly too cruel for hi

The best Michel Gondry films are tough acts to follow, which is why for every brilliant Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind there's a lukewarm Be Kind Rewind . Luckily, even at his worst, Gondry's work is creative and inventive enough to keep you intrigued throughout. Sadly, his new effort Mood Indigo (aka L'Écume Des Jours) is yet another not bad but not great flick with tons and tons of charm and mind-bending DIY effects but unfortunately nowhere near the level of intricate dark, surreal wit you'd find in a Charlie Kaufman script. The French film, based on a novel by Boris Vian, sees Romain Duris fall in love with Audrey Tautou's character and get married before she becomes sick and their relationship slowly but surely starts crumbling. The cast also includes Omar Sy as Duris' verbose friend/butler, Gad Elmaleh as his troubled pal and Gondry himself as Tautou's doctor. Also look out for a fun cameo appearance by Alain Chabat as a TV cook. From t

Years before Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind really put Michel Gondry on the map as one of the most creative and unique directors working today, he made Human Nature : a weirdo comedy starring Tim Robbins, Rhys Ifans and Patricia Arquette. Gondry's first collaboration with genius oddball writer Charlie Kaufman really gels. Just like the latter's work with Spike Jonze on Being John Malkovitch , the off-beat visual style really compliments the off-beat writing. The result is a film which delights in being pretty out there. The plot sees a woman born with a condition that makes her extremely hairy meet a really uptight scientist who discovers a man raised by apes (or, rather, by a father who thinks he's an ape) and tries to teach him the finest things that society has to offer and make him abandon his every animal instinct. The film is partly a sort of parody of Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan mixed with some of the themes explored in greater detail in Adaptation .

Whenever a project is this delayed, usually we get something like The Wolfman : full of ideas, style and potential but ultimately a mess which just doesn't work. And although The Green Hornet is a bit of a mess at times, I'm happy to report that most of it actually does work. Most of it. The opening scene sets the tone for the rest of film perfectly as James Franco's petty gangster taunts main villain Christoph Waltz until, of course, the latter snaps. The jokes come thick and fast, the feel is playful, silly and fun. Then we meet Seth Rogen's Billionaire jerk, a character who is dangerously close to being entirely dislikable but Rogen just about keeps him afloat. Things get interesting when he meets Jay Chou's Kato and although the latter's English isn't exactly perfect, he is as cool as it gets and pulls off Bruce Lee's old character brilliantly. The pair work well together and make a good anti-hero duo. Cue awesome car, wacky gadgets, exciting