In the mind of Gondry

“When people are very original, sometimes they are original to resist the mainstream.”

Michael Gondry.

Michael Gondry is the director of the “Eternal sunshine of a spotless mind” (Η αιώνια λιακάδα ενός καθαρού μυαλού) and soon his new film “The science of sleep” will be released in the cinemas. Before that he created a great number of short films before he embarked in his first long film endeavor called “Human Behaviour.”

When I think about Gondry I think about a man that refuses to grow up in a world of pretenses and I see a man that not only hasn’t lost the child inside him but dares to expose it. As he said in an interview “childhood occupies the biggest part of your brain so a lot of my memories subconsciously and consciously enter the videos I do.”

He was born in France in 1963 and apart from a very talented film director he has directed music video clips that are innovative, imaginative, surreal and deeply thought provoking. He was always listening to music and performed as a drummer in a band. Describing the meaning of music in his life he mentioned in an interview that "we listened a lot to pop music, rhythm and blues, and my father was a big Duke Ellington fan. So I never got into music as some sort of reaction to my parents. I didn't have to use music to throw shit back at my parents. They gave me lots of freedom in thinking. I just listened to the music I had always liked.” He has collaborated with Bjork in many of her videos (Isobel, bachelorette, human behavior), Beck (cell phone’s dead), Massive Attack’s (protection), Radiohead (Knives out), White stripes, Chemical Brothers and much more. It’s worth seeing his videos as they remind me of short films where he is presenting through images imaginative stories.

His films are deconstructing reality and incorporate our memories, our dreams and the importance of storytelling is emphasized. His videos and films are thought provoking and have something to tell. He has also participated in various exhibitions where he introduced his ideas by using video installations. The world of Gondry is a world for all the adults that will always feel young and question the certainties of this life. Discover him and make your own deconstructions about this world and don’t forget to travel with your imagination as a vehicle.

Link: Gondry

(Image by Gondry in Bjorks video,photo by rachel owens)