My bet is that future generations will consider Michel Gondry an original genius on the order of M.C. Esher and J.S. Bach. Gondry is a French filmmaker of music videos and amazing clever shorts. He specializes in radically playful creations, many of them which point to themselves in the recursive manner of the best creations of Esher and Bach. His films circle around in strange loops, mess with paradoxical perspective and POV, and explore the edges of linear reality with the spirit of a 12-year-old boy. He's recently made feature films (one is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), but his best work is still showcased in these 27 brilliant short films and astounding music videos collected here. They are utterly arresting, even now long after they were made. I am reminded of a Annie Dillard quote that says (paraphrasing) that when a creation refers to its form as well as its content, then it refers to art.

-- KK

From Kylie Minogue's music video "Come Into My World." She circumnavigates a city block, while additional copies of herself join on top of multiple layers of background jokes. It's as if a snake with its tail in its mouth begins to unroll into a larger more colorful dancing dragon.

The Work of Director Michel Gondry
2003, 400 minutes
$15
Available from
Amazon

or from Netflix