On the morning of the 22th of April, I woke up from a floating dream. A couple of days before that, a friend had posted some scenes from his upcoming short film, and it probably had stayed on my mind, to appear again in my dreams. Floating images led me to a floaty wake-up and a dreamy day. And I enjoyed it like that.
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| The outstanding Jared Leto, that let us dream with him and Nemo |
So, at night, when came the time when to chose a movie for the day, it had to be one that keep me on dreaming... And I made the right choice with Mr. Nobody.
There are many sayings about cinema being a place of dreams... some of them refer to the delusional and fantastic aspects. That's all right, because cinema is a gigantic universe that can be a lot of things. In Mr. Nobody, this saying is more literal.
A dream can be very hard to explain when we woke up... With open eyes, its images became blurry, and what seemed so clear while dreaming, is hard to define in words or rational thinking. However, even if we are not able to understand it rationally or clarify it, dreams usually make a lot of sense to the dreamer, even the apparently absurd ones. Without explanation, our whole life, and even aspects beyond that, are there for us to access it.
In this sense also a movie can be like a dream.
Dreaming with the beautiful and heartbreaking images of Mr. Nobody, it is frivolous seek for explanation. We are so many in our own, many possibilities, so much potential, so little time to live them... that life is a dream in itself, all this aspects living in us all together, even if we think some of them are not real.
But they are. Some of aspects in Nemo's life made me cry so sadly - they are so close to life, that there was no way I couldn't get emotional... some had enchanted me... or got me intrigued. And there's love, of course, heartbreaking kinds of love. During the whole movie, I wished that it wouldn't have to end. And I got my wish. Life goes on and on and on and on, despite the final credits in the movie.
In front of the apparently crazy (but actually accurate) story of Nemo Nobody, we must not hold to reason and thinking. We should allow ourselves to just flow with him, in his many possibilities - possibilities that a 9 years old Nemo claims to end when we make a choice. As long as you don't choose, everything remains possible...
There are, by the way, many reasonable "truths" repeated by him in the movie - "we see what exists" is one of them. But there's no popular saying or scientific believes able to reach what life is. Maybe only the narratives carved in dreams can do that.
And who are we to disagree?
| Mr. Nobody. Directed and writen by Jaco Van Dormael. With: Jared Leto, Diane Kruger, Sarah Polley, Toby Regbo. Belgium/Germany/Canada/France, 2009, 141 min., Dolby Digital, Color (DVD). |
PS: There are many musical references about dreams in Mr. Nobody. One of them are pretty obvious, but a favorite of mine: Eurythmics Sweet dreams are made of this (who am I to disagree?). The first time I met it in a fictional narrative was in Sandman, by Neil Gaiman, in Preludes and Nocturnes, when Morpheus sends not so subtle messages to John Constantine. The song is and probably always will be very evocative of this time.
PPS: Fragments: Orphan Black season 3, episode 1 (oh, disappointment... I truly hope that the story doesn't get so entangled that there will be nothing left of the good plots presented in the two first ones).
Firstly, I was happy to hear you had a dream about my film (although it is a short film, not a feature hehe), as I value the power of dreams to a great extent.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mr. Nobody, I understand how Matrix set the tone for what sci-fi movies would look like and emulate over the next generations, but no other film spoke to me, with such depth, in terms of breaking down life and reality like this one.
It leaves me deeply thunderstruck that Jaco Van Dormael wrote this screenplay from scratch, and on top of that, directed it and brilliantly so. There is no aspect of the directing in this film that I am not 100% fond of. Everything about it, both technical and story-wise, is impeccable. This is, to me, the most underrated movie of the new century, but then again, such geniousness would never please the masses in the same palatable way it does the group of us with enough sensibility to appreciate it. The way the different possibilities for Nemo's life are weaved together so seamlessly, and the use of stunning imagery that Jaco made in order to tell his story is what qualifies this as a master piece and, in my opinion, one of the best pictures ever made. I love his depiction of future times, it's so elegant and believable. And I love that Jared Leto stars in it, his dedicated acting in this piece is outstanding in his career. People seem to only praise him for "Requiem for a dream", but to me this is his most stellar job to this day. This should've been his Oscar win, if there was ever any fairness in the Academy Awards (well, if there was some, this film should've been nominated in a number of categories, I'm just saying).
Anyway, I'm happy that you watched this. You deserve this film :)
[ j ]
Sorry my mistake! I will right it. Looking forward to see more of your film!!!
ReplyDeleteMatrix was a pioneer in a lot of aspects, but it is not alone for sure, even in technical aspects.
About the Oscars, I love it, it is one time at the year when the night is all mine to put my feet up, with a glass of sparkling wine or a Guinness, and text friends about movies, actors, dresses lol. It's been like this for 34 years now (less the texting, and the liquor when I was a kid). But the award is not a reference for me. It made me so mad sometimes that I gave up this aspect of the show. Because it is just that, a terribly fun show once a year around movies and the people that make it. And it is nice to think that some films are out of it actually, in a place where they can be very special.
One question: didn't you like Leto in Club Dallas? I thought he was the whole movie's reason of being.
Yea, I also see the Academy Awards in a similar way, to be honest, I still watch it every year for the production of it and not for the awards being granted. I'm just saying this one should've been praised for its preciousness.
DeleteYes, I loved Leto in Dallas Buyers Club, he was incredible. Just saying he should've won for Mr. Nobody first :)
[ j ]
Dallas Buyers Club... this is the name that have ran away from me :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know... I don't see Mr. Nobody as a award's movie. Not that it is not worthy, but I think some productions transcend this kind of acknowledgment.