Whimsical director Michel Gondry’s follow-up to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind didn’t fare so well with critics and audiences. Casually juggling three languages isn’t a safe bet at US multiplexes. People who got past that generally bemoan the lack of a solid story. It’s basically several days in the life of a hipster suffering a boring new job, pining for a female neighbor, and finding his dreams mixing with reality. That last detail could be mined for its deep Freudian implications (there’s no lack of randy jokes) and commentary on the modern monotony of urban life, but Gondry simply uses it as a springboard into his mental toy box. The dream sequences take up a good chunk of the movie, and after a while there is hardly a conceivable split between the protagonist’s real and imagined experiences. Objects, people and places transform in wonderful ways before his and our eyes. Artists like David Lynch use such minglings to challenge viewers, but Gondry only seems to seek pure delight. His visions are so magical and child-like that the screen sparkles from the simplest camera tricks. His skill for visualizing how we actually dream makes the surreal images more familiar and cozy than disorienting. The plot is almost an afterthought to Gondry’s untamed ideas. Even the characters invent impossible toys, like a one-second time machine and a brainwave transmitter, for nothing more than momentary amusement. The movie may be an ephemeral whirlwind of games and special effects show-and-tell, but I still find it fun to visit the director’s playroom.

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