Michel Gondry: his highly personal new film, The Science of Sleep, explores the power—and the pitfalls—of having a healthy dream life. So who better than the French director's 15-year-old son to get the truth about what inspired dad's daring new movie?

Michel Gondry's latest film, The Science of Sleep, tells the story of a romantic and slightly spacey young artist, Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal), whose unrequited love for the girl who lives across the hall (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is further complicated by the fact that he has difficulty distinguishing between his real life and the fantastical one he conjures in his dreams. But as anyone who has seen the French-born director's previous films--the evolutionary tale Human Nature (2001) and the hyper-real romance Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)--can well attest, he is someone for whom finding imaginative ways to grapple with the basic human emotions that we all experience is an ongoing, often eye-opening, project. Here, Gondry's 15-year-old son, Paul, puts his dad on the hot seat.

PAUL GONDRY: What was your inspiration for The Science of Sleep?

MICHEL GONDRY: I wanted to make a movie about this guy who had lost his sanity from living in his dreams, and then, when he found it back, became really proud of himself and his dreams.

PG: Why did you choose Gael Garcia Bernal to play this guy?

MG: Because he looks like you a little bit. He reminds me of you.

PG: Yeah, but it's more a story about you than me.

MG: It's close enough. Gael looks like more of a playboy than I do, which is good because then you don't expect that he's going to be rejected by Stephanie, Charlotte Gainsbourg's character.

PG: Their relationship in the movie is really complicated because Gael's character, Stephane, loves Stephanie, and Stephanie maybe loves him back, but inside of her, she's more interested in being with someone who is the opposite of her, and their personalities are too similar. People don't always get along when they are too much the same. They sometimes want opposition. What was the relation between the characters in your movie and your real life?

MG: It's quite close, as you know.

PG: I really thought it was about you because you can never sleep and you always have these problems with dreams. You always write them down and talk about them.

MG: Do you remember your dreams?

PG: Yeah, but not always. When it's too much of a strong dream, I don't remember it because too many things happen and I get lost. I can't build a story. It becomes like a bunch of pieces, like a puzzle.

MG: Have you had the same dream many times?

PG: Yeah. You remember when we lived in Hollywood and there was this house that was covered with all these pieces of fabric? My dream was of that house. There's a tower in that house, and I'm in it just having a perfect view of the city. It's weird. You can't really explain a dream. That's why you did a good job with this movie because it's something that's hard to put on the screen.

MG: Your dream of this place may have something to do with lots of events that have happened that may be emotional. I have millions of dreams of the house where I grew up in Versailles. You remember where we shot The Science of Sleep?

PG: Yeah, in my house in Paris. Seeing something as subtle as when Gael's character goes down the stairs, which I've done a thousand times in my life going to school, is very nostalgic for me. It's hard for me to watch your movies sometimes because they're always based on everything you went through and I was there with you in a way.

MG: Same for me. I had a hard time writing this one. But that's good, I guess. So what's going on with your little girlfriend these days?

PG: Can we stop talking about me and more about you? It's not my movie.

MG: It's a conversation we're having together.

PG: But we're not on public radio or anything like that.

MG: [laughs] So what's your favorite video that I've done?

PG: The one for Wyclef Jean ["Another One Bites the Dust"]. I saw it once, and I never saw it again.

MG: I know. We cannot get the rights [to the sample of the song] because of Queen's temper.

PG: Sucks.

MG: You want to talk about your little brother? PG: My little brother? No, that has nothing to do with anything. Why?

MG: I don't know. People like to hear about personal stuff. They can relate to you better when you expose some things.

Paul Gondry is a published comic book author who splits his time between New York and Paris. Above: Sweater by ETRO. Shirt by POLO BY RALPH LAUREN. Skin products by CLARINS. Hair products by REDKEN. Fragrance: RALPH LAUREN POLO BLUE. Styling: SAM SPECTOR. Grooming: REANNE WHITE/See Management. Fashion details page 214. Photos: THOMAS DOZOL.

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