Paris has always been a special city, but it’s likely that anyone who watches Michel Gondry’s latest film, Mood Indigo, will leave the cinema all the more in awe of the French capital.
One needs only to have seen Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris to know that, despite a decent plot or likeable lead, it isn’t hard to recreate the magic of certain cities on film. What makes Gondry’s vision of Paris so enchanting is his ability to turn the everyday into something by turns absurd and magical.
Based on Boris Vian’s novel Froth on the Daydream, Gondry’s film tells the story of a wealthy Parisian, Colin (Romain Duris), who lives in a world where pianos make cocktails, a half-mouse-half-man runs errands and doorbells can walk (that’s not even half of the peculiar inventions that populate this world, but to list them all here would be to ruin half the fun of watching the film).
At a party, Colin meets the enigmatic Chloe (played to perfection by Audrey Tautou). What follows is, quite literally, love at first sight. In fact, no sooner have they met than they’re getting married – underwater, no less. And no sooner are they married than things start to go wrong when it is discovered that a lily is growing in one of Chloe’s lungs.
Gondry’s surrealist vision, layered with symbolism aplenty, clearly reflects the upside-down, out-of-this-world rollercoaster that is being in love. In one scene, which is one of Mood Indigo’s highlights, Colin and Chloe climb into a cloud and take a panoramic tour over Paris. It’s hopelessly romantic, of course, yet it’s also a scene that will stir the hearts of cynics and idealists alike.
This playful approach is typical of Gondry, who was behind other wacky, yet wonderful works including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep. At face value, Mood Indigo might even surpass both of these in its sense of outrageousness, though its plot is fairly thin on the ground and conventional (boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, tragedy strikes...) At times the story seems a little rushed, no doubt owing to the fact that Mood Indigo was heavily cut from 130 minutes to a modest 94.
But if ever there was proof that Gondry’s still got what it takes, it can be found in Mood Indigo’s denouement. The black-and-white ending is as incandescent and luminous in optimism as it is heartbreaking, and this viewer couldn’t help but feel thankful to have experienced such a beautiful world, even if it was only for 94 minutes.
4 Stars
Director: Michel Gondry
Cast: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Omar Sy, Aïssa Maïga, Charlotte Le Bon
Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Rating: MA15+
Mitchell Jordan is a Sydney-based writer with an interest in arts, culture and travel.
