movie news: First official look at Michel Gondry’s next project, Mood Indigo.

The first official photos fron Mood Indigo, Michel Gondry’s current project have surfaced and it looks like he’s back to his whimsical, wondrous ways…

It’s been a while since Gondry has given us… well, a Gondry-esque film.

His next film is The We and the I is a lo-fi, low-budget indie flick examining the relationships between a group of youngster who ride the same bus route every day in NY. It did show at Cannes but there’s no release date for it yet. I don’t know much about it but I gather that, like his 2009 family documentary The Thorn in my Heart, it’s pretty far from his usual aesthetic.

Early last year, of course, there was his big budget foray into action, The Green Hornet. Personally, I really enjoyed it. No doubt he was neutered by the fact that it was a big studio production but truth is, I laughed so hard I think I scared the person beside me in the cinema. But then I’m just one person… and the Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDb scores prove that I was in the minority… I just hope nobody’s got it mixed up with the abysmal Green Lantern adaptation.

These latest photos of Mood Indigo definitely have the feel of his earlier works like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep (review). I for one do hope that, now that he’s back on his own terms he can reach those heights again. Eternal Sunshine is one of my favourite films of all time and I think he’s one of the most imaginative directors working today.

Mood Indigo is based on a 1947 novel by French author Boris Vian called L’Écume des Jours, or Froth on the Daydream in English. That plot follows the story of a young inventor, Colin (Romain Duris), who falls in love with Chloë (Audrey Tautou), they get married but their joy is cut short when Chloë falls ill when a flower starts growing in her lung. The only way to help her is to surround her with flowers but soon buying all those flowers starts to take it’s financial toll…

So just your average romantic comedy then. I can’t wait. Pity there’s no release date yet.

[sources: Le Monde via The Playlist]