Movie No. 65 (2014): MOOD INDIGO

Mood Indigo (2013)
Director: Michel Gondry
Cast: Audrey Tautou, Romain Duris, Omar Sy
In French, with English subtitles

The quirkiness one sees in the movie can be said to be typical of Michel Gondry. Here is a simply story of a wealthy bachelor (Colin) who decides to fall in love after learning that his friend and his chef have respective girlfriends. Then he meets Chloe, they fall in love, they get married. Then Chloe gets sick; apparently, there's a water lily growing in her lungs. The plant may be taken as a symbolism for cancer. Colin decides to take menial jobs to provide for Chloe's medication (i.e., to surround her with flowers to kill the plant in her lungs) as their money slowly gets exhausted. I have to stop here.

This is a simple love story. But, Gondry presents it in a way that's absurd. For example: foods that are animated; a dining table on roller blades; the plant that grows in Chloe's lungs; the house that gets smaller as Chloe's disease advances and as they become poorer; the bedroom that turns round when Duke Ellington is played; a scene on screen showing half in summer, the other in spring; the mouse; the race to the wedding; the see-through car; the chef on TV; the eel; the body parts that defy the laws of physics when dancing to Duke Ellington's music; the "walk" in the clouds; and a lot more. The overload of this art direction details sometimes get into the way of the narrative (i.e., distracting). But then, the movie is still likeable, knowing it's Gondy directing.

Rating: 3.0/4.0

Date seen: August 24, 2014