Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?

Released:  November 25^th, 2013

Rated:  Unrated

Distributor:  IFC Films

Starring:  Noam Chomsky, Michel Gondry

Directed by:  Michel Gondry

Written by:  Michel Gondry

Personal Bias Alert:  not familiar with Chomsky, likes Gondry’s films

7.8 of 10

7

Well, this is an odd little…what?  Documentary?  I suppose that’s the closest category to put it in, although there’s no story being told here.  It’s simply an interview with writer/director Michel Gondry asking questions of the linguist, philosopher, political activist, and man of many intellectual hats Noam Chomsky.  However, instead of the usual (and much easier) talking heads setup, Gondry takes the time to animate the conversation, limiting the use of live footage to only small chunks of the conversation that were intermittently captured by a camera on a timer.  This may sound sparse to you, but in an age where TED Talks and other lecture series have hit it big in the podcast world, it’s unsurprising to find a filmmaker taking on the challenge of livening up such an event.

There will, of course, always be an entry barrier to this sort of work.  You have to enjoy talks and lectures, be the kind of person willing to sit through long, unstructured conversations that require the utmost mental attention with little to no need to insert your own opinions.  I have faith that the crossover between this sort of audience and serious film fans is rather strong, as the desire to sit still and be challenged is a requirement for both groups.  Still, if you fall asleep during school or watch the clock drag by during presentations, you should definitely skip Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy, because it delivers something much closer to the lecture format than to a traditional documentary.

The conversation itself meanders, touching on many aspects of Chomsky’s work without any sense of structure or pace.  At times, it presents incredibly challenging concepts that might require you to go back and rewatch a few times to understand, which if you’ve decided to give this film a try is likely what you’re looking for.  Personally, I don’t know anything about Chomsky or his work, but I’ve got a background in psychology, so the rudiments of what he was talking about was familiar to me.  Someone without such a background, like Gondry, will struggle even more to keep up, especially given the language barrier that the two faced.  Gondry speaks only passable English, so there are times when the conversation between the two becomes muddled by misunderstanding.  These make for interesting moments that exist entirely outside of Chomsky’s intellect, giving a glimpse into how the minds of a deeply studious linguist and a creative layman bounce off of and react to each other.  Instead of slowing the film down, these moments make for perhaps the only aspect that feels like a traditional film, moments where two characters come into conflict and must resolve (or ignore) the problem in front of them.

The cinematic aspect, i.e. Gondry’s drawings, largely aims to compliment the conversation going on.  They occasionally dabble in illuminating or making more clear the concepts being discussed, but they mostly shy away from such pursuits (I have doubts that Gondry understood the concepts clearly enough to explain them).  Instead, it largely takes the shape of something like doodles, the kind of half-thought out sketches that jittery-handed people make when intensely focused on something else.  The images glide around the conversation, forming into simplistic expressions that pulse with the flow of the conversation.  It’s a similar effect to being hypnotized by the visualizations on a music player.  You’re mostly focused on the noise, but the bright colors bouncing in response keeps all other distractions tuned out.  In doing so, Gondry’s animation actually emphasizes Chomsky’s words, sucking you in in a way that talking heads simply wouldn’t have accomplished.

Gondry seems to have a great respect for Noam Chomsky, but the desire to preserve him yet again is a bit baffling.  Chomsky’s books are numerous, and he’s appeared many times in film and television formats much more accessible than this.  Although, perhaps Gondry’s aim wasn’t one of preservation but a desire to express his own excitement about Chomsky’s work.  Such a selfish intent isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the lack of structure or central concept keeps the whole thing from having much of an effect.  The film is interesting and captivating while you watch it, but it slips from the mind quickly, leaving any long-term takeaways too few and too simplistic to have a lasting effect.

Other Notes:

Ø  Gondry is too kind to be a documentarian.  He fails to push Chomsky when painful things come up.

Ø  Watching this, I went into the stupor I often do when intensely focused:  an almost asleep daze where my body shuts down while my mind is whirring away.

Ø  Is the man who tall is happy?