correspondences

the time traveller’s wife is an intensively human love-story between an artistic graceful and patient beauty (claire) and an errant and a bit fucked-up, yet amiable, guy (henry). henry is cursed by his own gift of time travelling across his and her past (or, more rarely, future). although the time travelling dynamics explicated in the novel never convinced me completely (the author seemed to break her own *suspension of disbelief's* rules in more than one circumstance), half way through the book you forget all of these discrepancies and begin to empathise with the characters’ lives with a hard to believe sense of identification. the characters have to face an escalation of absurd, yet human, calamities proves and hardships that you end up perceiving the time travelling ‘movement’ by the same standards as any other family tribulation.

although it must be unbearable to experience a relationship constantly fragmented and disrupted by your man’s absence, the couple had the exceptional privilege of enjoying each other’s company twice longer and, in claire’s case, since she was six years old…

when i finished this enthralling reading and found out that the then couple Pitt/Aniston had bought all the film rights, my mind started a journey into the directing world. i suddenly became a (-n acclaimed) film director with the warranty to pick the right cast for such a quirky and profound story. i opted for an improbable match: a mexican actor (gael garcia bernal) and an english/french artist (charlotte gainsbourg) because, despite their very different backgrounds and age (she is 7 years senior than him), i could foresee a natural chemistry between them (and everything is possible on stage!). it was to my immense delight that i discovered they were chosen by the quick-witted and resouceful director Michel Gondry to star as a couple in the promising film the *science of sleep*. i haven’t seen it yet, but it will be out in london from 16th february, and i already know that it will be one of my top five classics.

the reason why i believe that gael is perfectly suitable to this role is that, before being a talented actor, he is a real person. in point of fact, what i really appreciate of him (apart from the fact that he is gorgeous) is his authenticity behind and in front of the cameras. he comes from an arty family with a bohemian soul, is socio-politically aware and proud of his country, and is not afraid to challenge himself with controversial and unflattering cinematic roles (all of which were excellent choices!). charlotte gainsbourg’s acting is genuine as much, and her irregular features and velvety voice add a unique magnetism to her girl-next-door beauty. her background is as interesting as her co-star’s: daughter of ex-supermodel Jane Birkin and poet Serge Gainsbourg (who sadly passed away in '91 and is buried in the exclusive Montparnasse cemetery in Paris), she is flawlessy bilingual. but her forte is not only limited to acting and languages: she is also an icon of understated style and, last but not least, a successful recording singer: her last album *5:55* has featured on the sidebar of amicacarmilla for many months now ~ testimony of my fan-devotion to her music.