Director: Michel Gondry
Cast: Michel Gondy, Noam Chomsky
Certificate: E
Running Time: 88 mins
Synopsis: A series of interviews featuring linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky done in hand-drawn animation.
Michel Gondry is not your average filmmaker, so it comes as little of a surprise that a simple conversational piece between him and famed linguist Noam Chomsky is anything but conventional. Dismissing the notion of a live action documentary, Gondry instead decides to animate the vast majority of the film to try and illustrate the vast ideas that Chomsky introduces and it turns out to be exactly the right choice. The heady and often head-scratching ideas introduced throughout the film needs a visual anchor and in that sense the animations most of the time are successful. The success of the film itself however is more arguable.
There is never a defined enough thread through the duo’s conversations which makes it incredibly hard to stay engaged all the way through and which results in a sense of tediousness popping up every now and again. This isn’t helped by the repetitive nature of the animations which kind of works to put you into a trance of sorts. Gondry’s heavy French accent also complicates the ability to fully comprehend the vast theories (a fact that Gondry himself acknowledges a few times throughout the film) and may necessitate the use of subtitles to experience the film fully.
Overall, this is a film that is highly specific in its intended market, however if you are into philosophy and abstract thinking, this film might just be for you. However it is not a piece of light entertainment or a film to watch without being prepared.
[usr=3] IS THE MAN WHO IS TALL HAPPY is currently on the film festival circuit. You can also catch it at the upcoming Biografilm Festival in Italy, and at the Sydney Film Festival, Australia.
