This is one of
those films that critics rave about, partially because of clever brilliance in
the film’s presentation, but mostly because it is the type of film that makes
you look intelligent and hip for claiming to enjoy it. I’ll be completely
honest, I had little interest in Noam Chomsky prior to this film and despite
some clever animation helping retain some semblance of entertainment, Is the Man Who is Tall Happy? did little
to convince me otherwise. At times it merely tries too hard, but the bottom
line is that I found the linguist discussion more pretentious than significant
to my existence.
This is my
opinion, because I am obviously not a study of Chomsky’s work, but I imagine
that this would make for a completely different viewing experience for anyone
more familiar with his ideas. I could give a description of the concepts that
he covers within the film, but I would not be able to do it justice. At the
same time, I couldn’t help but feel that the ideas they discuss are not nearly
as profound as I imagined from the man called a foremost think of modern times.
I am also
somewhat cynical of the filmmaking choices by director and interviewer Michel
Gondry. He inserts himself into the center of the film when he assumes the role
of interviewer, which would be fine without the constant vane need to address
the audience with asides. He even remarks about his own filmmaking choice,
nearly deciding to switch cameras halfway through the interview (even though very
little footage is actually shown), and then deciding not to switch. I’m not
sure why he felt the need to address this, other than to point out that it was
a mistake to film snippets of Chomsky with the noisiest camera available.
Then there is
the animation, which is certainly more compelling that watching Chomsky or
Gondry for the entire interview. This is easily the strongest element of
filmmaking at play here, helping to blend the gaps in the interview and a
somewhat shoddily established idea for a film. The DVD special features include
an animated making-of featurette, additional interviews and Q&A sessions
about the film. There is also a trailer.
Entertainment Value:
5.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
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