Film is a visual language, and our finest imagemakers, in order to even attain that title, must understand this. No matter what you think of his overall output, it’s hard to argue against Michel Gondry as an intense, stimulating formal stylist — again, even if the scripts don’t always hold together. (Needless to say, I’m putting Eternal Sunshine on a completely different pedestal.) Today, we found a great example of that.

Despite the usage of that goddamn song which I hate like it drove a car into my house, the first preview for his (duh) whimsical romance, Mood Indigo, is something of a wonder. There’s almost no dialogue, whatever dialogue exists is in French, and title cards provide no additional context, but the moments and their juxtaposition with other images speak volumes without “saying” anything at all. It’s just as unsurprising to discover a nice palate as it is to see this has a crazy spirit, but that’s par for the course with Gondry. At this point, I’m used to it.

Watch the trailer below (via ThePlaylist):

Synopsis:

“In a world where you can travel around on a pink cloud or literally be swept off an ice-skating rink into a hole, Colin (Romain Duris), a wealthy young man and inventor of the cocktail-mixing piano, wants to fall in love.  With the help of his cook Nicolas (Omar Sy) and best friend Chick (Gad Elmaleh), he meets Chloe (Audrey Tautou), the incarnation of a Duke Ellington tune.  But soon after their wedding, Chloe falls ill.  She has a water lily growing in her chest.  Ruined by medical expenses, Colin resorts to increasingly desperate methods to save his beloved’s life…”

Starring Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Romain Duris, and Omar Sy, Mood Indigo will open in France on April 24th. A U.S. release has not yet been decided.

Does this (essentially) dialogue-free preview capture the right spirit?