Cinema and magical realism. Michel Gondry

Michel Gondry is a director and screenwriter, born in France.

I think of his films and the characters from "Cien años de soledad" (One Hundred Years of Solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez come to mind (magical, unique, and a bit crazy) and literary magical realism (where exceptional or fantastical events occur in stories presented as real, which the characters in the narrative accept as part of their everyday reality without being surprised).

I'm enthusiastic about his work: the images he creates and his unique approach. Sometimes it's also comical.

It has a lot of "handmade", like "do-it-yourself", so clever that it even looks easy!

It is striking and magical. Reality and dreams intermingle.

I am especially interested in his work with models and the use of stop motion (animation technique that consists of building the movement of static objects, through a series of successive images, frame by frame).

He achieves incredible results, sometimes with everyday materials and lots of imagination!

In the 1990s he became one of the cult music video directors, alongside Spike Jonze and Chris Cunningham.

He shot videos for The Rolling Stones, Björk, Chemical Brothers, Beck, White Stripes or Radiohead, among others.

Some of his best known films are Human Nature (2001), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), both with Charlie Kaufman as screenwriter; La science des rêves ("The science of dreams", 2006), Be Kind Rewind (2008) o The Green Hornet (2011).

Beautiful examples of his music videos:

"A Ribbon", Devendra Banhart (2004)

"Walkie Talkie Man", Steriogram (2004)

"Mad World" (version of the Donnie Darko soundtrack), Gary Jules (2004)

"Star Guitar", Chemical Brothers (2002)

"Ma Maison", Oui Oui (1990). French rock band of which Gondry was the drummer (his career as a filmmaker began by directing his own band's music videos).

Two of his films:

La science des rêves ("The Science of Dreams", 2006)

Be Kind Rewind (2008)