Mood Indigo takes us in to the rather strangle visual world of director, Michel Gondry, in only the way that a Gondry film can and the story, based on the book by Boris Vian, certainly suits the visuals of Michel Gondry, add to the movie the wonderful soundtrack from Etienne Charry and you have a rather delightful movie.
Mood Indigo SYNOPSIS
The surreal and poetic tale of Colin, an idealistic and inventive young man, and Chloé, a young woman who seems like the physical embodiment of the eponymous Duke Ellington tune. Their idyllic marriage is turned on its head when Chloé falls sick with a water lily growing in her lung. To pay for her medical bills in this fantasy version of Paris, Colin must go out to work in a series of increasingly absurd jobs, while around them, their apartment disintegrates and their friends, including the talented Nicolas, and Chick – a huge fan of the philosopher Jean-Sol Partre – go to pieces.
As a teenager. My big brother read it first, and he told us, his younger siblings, to read it in turn. No doubt he started with “I Spit on Your Graves” and Vian’s other more erotic novels which he wrote under the pseudonym of Vernon Sullivan. He then must have gone on to read the rest of his books. We didn’t listen to Boris Vian’s songs at home. There was a kind of rejection of French songs with a message. But we did listen to Duke Ellington – my father was a big fan. And Serge Gainsbourg. Without us realizing it at the time, Vian was a kind of link between the two. It’s difficult to know from the first time I read it, because it is hard to separate the real and the reconstituted memory. One image remains: the butchery at the skating rink, and the feeling that the book belonged to a tradition of novels about love in which the loved one is lost. And the vision of a movie that I had well before becoming a director – in which colour gradually gives way to black and white. I read “L’Écume des Jours” two or three times afterwards, before thinking about turning it into a film. – Interview with Michel Gondry
Although Mood Indigo, may not be the best of Gondry’s films, the visuals of the surreal world that it takes us in to is a sheer delight and the characters do start to pull on the heart-strings during the movie, yet the story of the romance of a couple with one becoming ill with a flower growing in her is strangely watch-able and you are pulled in to the fantasy world wanting to be part of the strange goings on!
With its great use of the music during the film and the use of the visuals, which you now come to expect from Michel Gondry, the film is a delight to watch and specially on the Blu-Ray release here in the UK, where we are treated to not on the UK Theatrical release, but also the choice of watching the Director’s Cut as well which runs substitutional longer at around 2h 10m, but it is worth it, most Director’s Cuts are.
The cast of the movie certainly works well with the story and the Gondry’s style, as the movie progresses and the story takes a turn as life for Chloé and Colin takes as Chloé become sicker, then the film turns quite depressing, so much say that the film looses it’s colour and goes in to the world of Black and White, but this still works very well for the rest of the film.
Mood Indigo is a rather mood swinging film, from the happy start with its stop-frame animation and dancing mouse character, through the moments of love with Chloé and Colin to the times of illness with their world decaying around them to the moment of loss, so it can be a bit of an up and down movie.
But it is an enjoyable movie to watch, not only for Michel Gondry’s stunning visuals but also for the soundtrack to the movie by Gondry’s long time friend, Etienne Charry, who has given Mood Indigo a wonderful nostalgic feel throughout with the music.
Set in a fantasy version of Paris, MOOD INDIGO is the surreal and poetic tale of Colin (Romain Duris, Heartbreaker) and Chloé (Audrey Tautou, Amélie) whose idyllic love story is turned on its head when Chloé falls sick. Dedicated to his beloved bride, Colin must go out to work in a series of increasingly absurd jobs to pay for the fresh flowers that Chloe needs to be surrounded with in order to feel better.
A beautiful and dreamlike work from visionary director Michel Gondry, Mood Indigo stars Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Omar Sy, Aissa Maiga, and Charlotte Le Bon.
Mood Indigo is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD at amazon.co.uk.
Summary
Mood Indigo certainly suits the visuals of Michel Gondry, add to the movie the wonderful soundtrack from Etienne Charry and you have a rather delightful movie.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
