Under The Radar Dvd Of The Week: 'is The Man Who Is Tall Happy?'

Dennis King[img]2635350[/img] This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is: “Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?” Academic linguistic philosophy and dazzling, cutting-edge animation hardly seem a natural pairing, but in the hands of odd, innovative French director Michel Gondry the two elements come together brilliantly in “Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?” (due out on DVD Tuesday). MIT professor and activist Noam Chomsky and Gondry, the visionary French filmmaker who gave us “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “The Science of Sleep,” sit down for an extended bull session, and the result is a truly stimulating documentary (much of it animated) that allows viewers a small peek into the breathtakingly expansive mind of one of the world’s truly great intellects. Chomsky, known as the father of linguistics, is a philosopher, anti-war activist and political firebrand whose abstract theories are indeed mind-bending. Gondry, who confesses to often “feeling a bit stupid” in the presence of this great man, nevertheless applies his own artist’s eye and inquisitive nature in documenting their rambling conversation and interpreting Chomsky’s abstract ideas in thoroughly entertaining ways. The director employs witty stick-figure drawings to illustrate some of Chomsky’s most far-out concepts.Read more on NewsOK.com