The We and the I (Michel Gondry)

[number8]

IMDB

[number8]

Pretty great. Easily Gondry's best since Eternal Sunshine (not counting Block Party). A bit surprising to find out after it ends that it's only 100 minutes long. It feels much longer, probably because it's real time in essentially one room (the bus).

I find it insane that this is playing in ONE THEATER in the entire country. It's a frigging teen comedy from a famous director. What the fuck?

[transmogrifier]

I find it insane that this is playing in ONE THEATER in the entire country. It's a frigging teen comedy from a famous director. What the fuck?

Found the answer:

Easily Gondry's best since Eternal Sunshine....

..... it's real time in essentially one room (the bus).

[Ezee E]

Are there special effects?

[number8]

Sort of. There are occasional flashback/fantasy sequences that use Gondry's DIY effects. Like, one kid imagines setting his art teacher on fire, and we see it as a stop motion of the teacher being covered up by red origami papers cut into flame shapes. There are also moments where we see flashbacks outside the bus windows, and it's pretty obvious that Gondry just set up a fake bus side in the room where they shot the flashback instead of using green screen.

The whole thing has the production value of a community project. And it is. All the actors are from one Bronx community center that Gondry collaborated with. The end credits include a pretty touching thank you letter from the kids' social worker(?). I wouldn't be surprised if the budget for this was $5,000 or something.

[NickGlass]

I really enjoyed this, too.

[Henry Gale]

This is quite a good little movie. It's far from perfect, but quietly ambitious and filled with exceptional moments nonetheless.

It just has an effortless vibe to it. Sure, the kids aren't all great actors, but once they don't feel like they're simply reciting lines, their personalities shine. The sometimes nonsensical, quick insults the characters throw at each other are exactly the sorts of jabs that either just make you and your friends laugh, or you often find yourself amused by hearing in passing. The semblance of a plot almost feels like it keeps the overall film down from just being that much more authentically observed and performed.

If I didn't keep tabs on Gondry's career, I'm not sure I would've ever known this existed. People should see this! It's not like it's a particularly hard sell. Hopefully it can find an audience of sorts down the road.

***1/2

[Yxklyx]

Oh wow! This was great! Thanks for all the positive reviews here or I'd never have picked this up.

edit: ... and the spontaneity and earnestness reminds me a lot of I Like It Like That from 1994 - which everyone here should check out.

[transmogrifier]

Excellent. Can't really believe the mediocre response this got when it was released. I see it as a direct companion piece to Dazed and Confused, but while Linklater's film finds wistfulness in looking back at high school years, a function of time, this is more confrontational, less soothing. With all these individual identities fighting either fighting against or trying to assimilate into the strong social/cultural environment in which they live, The We and the I offers no easy answers. Some kids will make it, some kids won't. Looking back in 20 years, will they have the same feeling of nostalgia?