Michel Gondry: Requiem for a Dreamer

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MG: Yes, exactly! That came from a state I was in when I woke up fromnightmares when I was a kid, where it felt as if my hands were fartoo large for my arms. I only just figured out what causes it aboutsix months ago… it has to do with the connection between thecortex of the brain and the geography of the nervous system thatsends messages of movement to your limbs. It perfectly mirrored theanguish that Stéphane goes through, so I wanted to use theconcept again.
MM: Your first two films were collaborations with screenwriter CharlieKaufman; this is the first project where you’re directingsomething you’ve written yourself. Did you find that it waseasier to work from your own screenplay?
MG: No, it was much, much harder.
MM: Really? Most directors would say the opposite, since you’reable to direct the movie in your head as you write it.
MG: Yes, but when you’re the one writing, everything becomesmuch more embarrassing since you take every criticism personally.You’re much more vulnerable and thus, more fragile. You startsaying, “You’re right, this script has no value. Iagree.” You feel as if you’re naked; there are no oneelse’s words to hide behind, you know?
MM: How closely did you work with the set designer for the dreamsequences?
MG: Very, very closely. But the whole process was totally chaotic. Istarted with one designer who was just going to work on theanimated sequences and then I found this other person who I thoughtwould be perfect for the filmed sections. Only I didn’t wantto hurt anyone’s feelings, so I hired them both. Then therewas a third person in charge of overseeing all aspects ofproduction, so it was the three of them all trying to makedecisions. Honestly, I have no idea how we managed to makesomething that was even a little coherent. There were many dayswhere I just wanted to run away… I was hoping that I couldhide somewhere in Paris and wait until they just canceled the wholefilm. (laughs) But I look at it now and they all did a great job.
MM: What kind of discussions did you have with the actors regarding thejumps between reality and the world inside Stéphane’shead?
MG: Well, the discussions with Gael and Charlotte were mostly abouttheir interactions and how the back and forth between them wouldplay out. Everyone seemed to instinctually understand the dreamsequences, which are quite far out. But how to play the more humanaspects of the story—how to make all this fantastic stufffeel emotionally real—that was more difficult. Luckily, itworked out fine, because you could feel the dynamic developingbetween the two actors from the very first conference call I hadwith them. We were each in different countries, but Charlotte hasthis very soothing, reassuring voice. You could hear Gael’snerves being calmed as she spoke. But her character is the moreobscure of the two, and I told Charlotte that I really wasn’tsure what was going on in Stéphanie’s head. I washoping that she would tell me through her performance. I wanted toget to know this character better.
MM: Did you feel like you knew Stéphanie by the time you’dfinished?
MG: No. Which is kind of cool, actually. Charlotte is so rich andbrought so much to the character that I feel like I never knew whatwas going on in Stéphanie’s head; she made her morecomplex. I wanted them to exist in their own relation to the storyas much as I was, and that meant that they would have to find howit related to them. The film is very autobiographical, but Ididn’t want to tell a story that was like three or fourdifferent versions of me up there.
MM: How is it autobiographical exactly?
MG: The way Stéphane makes things with his hands and the way hebelieves his immature love is strong enough to seduce this girl,then it doesn’t work out… I have to admit that thestory, in that respect, is very personal.
MM: The look and feel of the film resembles your music video work morethan your previous films.