TRAILERS

Watch: First Trailer for Michel Gondry's Noam Chomsky Documentary

by Ethan Anderton
February 8, 2013
Source: The Playlist

If the first French trailer for Mood Indigo is any indicator, we're going to get something truly unique and mesmerizing from director Michel Gondry this year. And in addition, a project that the French filmmaker has been working on for years is finally, but slowly, being unveiled. Back in December of 2010, Gondry said he was working on animated documentary about American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and political activist, Noam Chomsky. Now it's been titled Is the Man Who is Tall Happy? and will be screening to the public for free at MIT on February 12th. In addition, the first trailer featuring a series of interviews with audio placed over an animated backdrop has been released, and it's pretty trippy. Check it.

Here's the first trailer for Michael Gondry's Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?, via The Playlist:

Gondry had this to say about this film, originally posted via the Animated Matters blog for the MIT event:

"My conversations with Professor Chomsky were lively, sometime complex, always very human. Through my illustrations, we follow the winding path of my halting and incomplete understanding. Noam is often patient, sometime less so. The trail always follows unexpected bends. The process and logic of Noam's stream of ideas have determined the transitions and evolution of my drawings. The concept of 'animated documentary' finds a perfect justification here.

At the heart of the conversation, we encounter Noam's theory of the emergence of language. Listening to Noam discuss this topic made we wonder what it would have been like to meet the astronomer Edwin Hubble and listen to him talk about the red shift he observed from distant galaxies and how it led to the theory of the big bang. Maybe that is a weak comparison, but it is another way of simply saying I felt privileged to have this dialogue.

In the end, what will stay the most with me in these discussions is Noam Chomsky's humanity, the way he respects people's different ways of life, their beliefs – and, above all, the way he often includes his wife, Carol Chomsky, in the conversations, and in some way keeps her alive and next to him."

The screening happening at MIT next week is free and open to the public, so if anyone is in the area, check it out and tell us what you think. Michel Gondry and Noam Chomsky will be there for a Q&A afterwards to seal the deal. Otherwise, we're not sure when more audiences will get a chance to see this wholly intriguing and original documentary featuring a conversation with one of the most brilliant minds of today. This could be a rare opportunity for cinephiles as the film doesn't look like it lends itself to wide distribution. Stay tuned for anymore updates on Gondry's Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?, including release info. What do you think?

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