SXSWORLD

"Intelligence and Feeling": Michel Gondry Shares his Vision at SXSW Film By Jim Kolmar have evoked some of the most imaginative images in contemporary cinema. Rising to prominence with an astonishingly diverse catalog of music promos for the likes of The White Stripes, Radiohead and long time collaborator Björk, Gondry quickly gained a reputation as a master fabulist with a gift for manipulating time, space and physical environ- ments into improbable, outlandish new forms. Making his first foray into features with the Charlie Kaufman-penned Human Nature, he fol- lowed up with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep and Be Kind Rewind. Each film seemed to challenge what it means to dream, imagine, remember and envision. Gondry's view of the world seems to be something altogether alien, yet familiar. SXSW hosted this unique talent as a featured guest to present his latest, The Thorn in the Heart. A recent addition to Oscilloscope (Adam Yauch's distribution outfit), the film seems to be a departure from the familar Gondry style. A personal family documentary of rare intimacy and delicacy, this verité-style film reveals itself early on as a journey through the Gondry closets in search of skeletons. The Thorn in the Heart is essentially a portrait of Gondry's Aunt Suzette, a fiercely intelligent and strong-willed matriarch who functions as a tour guide through the family history, revealing much of herself in the process. We discover the tensions that simmer below the surface of her buried dissatisfaction and disappointments: are the revelations and home truths that emerge around her misfit son, Jean-Yves. It seems like unusual territory for Gondry – deeply personal and intimate, and with less of the rambunctious, fantastical visual tics we have come to expect. That is not to say these are absent – ramshackle stop-motion animation abounds, and there is a won- derful scene involving school kids clad in "invisibility suits." However, closer inspection reveals con- sistencies and thematic motifs that suggest that this is a perfectly natural progression for Gondry. The post-screening Q&A was moderated by University of Texas-Austin film professor John Pierson, who explains: "It's so clear that all of Michel's fiction particularly fascinating features are about memory, and obviously this bittersweet family documentary even moreso. I thought the audience here at SXSW was acutely aware of all the the- 38 SXSW ORLD / M AY -J UNE 2010 French filmmaker Michel Gondry bore testament to a special kind of artist. For well over a decade, Gondry's videos, commercials and features W ith so many innovative filmmakers vying for attention at SXSW 2010, it was no surprise to see eager audi- ences packing out theaters all over town. However, the sense of excitement surrounding the presence of iconic "You preserve the memory but erase the feeling of living the moment because you recollect the image ... but it takes it out of your brain." matic connections, and honestly I'm not sure I've ever attended, much less moderated, a post-screening Q&A where every one of a dozen ques- tions matched the intelligence and feeling of the work." Certainly, Gondry's handling of Suzette's recollections is more than a collection of memories. The impressionistic nature of the film suggests that The Thorn in the Heart is almost a treatise on the nature of memory itself, like so much of Gondry's other work. In addition to the screening and Q&A, SXSW hosted a much antici- pated conversation with Gondry, moderated by IndieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez in front of a capacity crowd. Appropriately, much of the conversation centered on the importance of family in Gondry's work, both conceptually and practically; he is currently working on a ani- mated feature project with his son called Megalomania. Charming and self-effacing ("I'm famous to the people that like me"), Gondry talked at length about his working practice and influences and commented on a screening of 2004's Steriogram's "Walkie Talkie Man," a music video inspired by memories of his mother's knitting. Indeed, Gondry is always fascinating on the subject of memory. Touching on ideas raised at the previous screening, he noted a certain negative tendency in the onset of social media and endless content creation: "You preserve the memory but erase the feeling of living the moment because you recollect the image... but it takes it out of your brain." Hernandez commented: "This was an Director Michel Gondry (right) with John Pierson. incredible exchange because I think it underscores the value of his insights across multiple disciplines. It was one of the most fascinating exchanges I took away from SXSW." Audiences seemed to feel the same, filling the air with a palpable buzz and leaving the question, "How can Gondry top this?" If the upcoming Seth Rogen vehicle The Green Hornet is not enough, Gondry announced at SXSW that his next project will be another collaboration with Björk on "a 40-minute IMAX project in 3D"–like the rest of his resume, fasci- nating, surprising, but totally logical. We wouldn't have it any other way. n NAAMAN ESQUIVEL

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