Mr. Nobody (film)

Mr. Nobody
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Jaco Van Dormael
Produced by	Philippe Godeau
Written by	Jaco Van Dormael
Starring	Jared Leto Diane Kruger Sarah Polley Linh Dan Pham
Music by	Pierre Van Dormael
Cinematography	Christophe Beaucarne
Distributed by	Pathé (France) Wild Bunch (France)
Release date(s)	12 September 2009 (2009-09-12) (Venice) 13 January 2010 (2010-01-13) (Belgium and France)
Running time	138 minutes
Country	France Germany Canada Belgium
Language	English
Budget	€37 million (US$58 million)

Mr. Nobody is a 2009 Belgian science fiction drama film directed by Jaco Van Dormael, starring Jared Leto, Diane Kruger, Linh Dan Pham, Sarah Polley, Natasha Little, Rhys Ifans and Daniel Mays.^[1] This movie tells the life story of Nemo Nobody, the last mortal on Earth. Nemo is 118 years old and lives in a world where all other people have immortalized. During the film, Nemo's psychiatrist, played by Allan Corduner, picks his mind to discover his true past. The film utilizes non-liner plot progression and the Many-worlds interpretation to tell the story of Nemo's life.

Synopsis

The main character, who calls himself Nemo Nobody, is a 118-year-old man, the last mortal man on earth. The days leading up to his death become the object of a reality show and are broadcast to the immortal world's population. Nemo himself says that he remembers nothing about his past and a psychiatrist tries to make him recall memories through hypnosis; other memories are told to a journalist. The whole movie is random scraps of memories of Mr. Nobody, which make up conflicting stories of his life. It is unclear which of the memories are real and which are just potential developments of Nemo's life that have not happened.

The film has a tree structure: from the birth of the protagonist, the viewer sees all the possible options for the development of his life, which generally form several "branches".

Birth

"Under the concept of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato , the immortal soul of man has absolute knowledge, but before the birth of this knowledge is "forgotten", with the entire process of human knowledge in the course of life is treated as a "remembrance" forgotten soul of the material"

At the beginning of the story it's explained that before birth children remember everything that will happen in their lives, but at the moment of conception the angels of Oblivion put a finger on their lips, making them forget everything. The angels forget about Nemo. A similar idea was expressed by French writer Bernard Werber in his work "The Empire of Angels"^[2].

Nemo first has to choose the parents. His second choice happens when they divorce, and he has to decide with whom he will live. The scene takes place at a railway station ; his mother leaves on a train, while his father stays. In one case he runs to reach the train and his mother manages to pull him in, in another he stays with his father.

Life with his mother

In this storyline Nemo lives with his mother and her new partner, Harry, and does not get along with him. He behaves in a rebellious way, saying he can predict the future. He meets the daughter of his mother's boyfriend, Anna. Nemo is sitting on the beach, Anna runs to him and asks him to swim with her and her friends. In one case Nemo answers "They're idiots. I don't go swimming with idiots". He regrets those words all his life, and many years later, he meets Anna at the station with her two children, engange in an awkward conversation, and they part again.

In the second storyline he tells her he cannot swim, and she stays with him on the beach. They get to know and she becomes Nemo's first love. They are happy, but when Harry and Nemo's mother break up, Anna has to go to New York with her father, and they lose touch. Years later Nemo works as a pool cleaner and hopes to meet Anna again. They meet each other at a station and immediately recognize each other in a crowd of passers-by. After so many years, Anna is not ready to immediately resume the relationship and asks Nemo to wait. She asks him to call her in two days and meet at the lighthouse, but the slip of paper on which she wrote her name gets wet in the rain, and becomes unreadable. Nemo keeps waiting at the lighthouse every day but Anna does not come.

Life with his father

Nemo stays with his father, who becomes an invalid. Nemo takes care of him, becoming withdrawn, uncommunicative, not following the appearance. He works in a shop, and spends his free time at home at the typewriter, writing a fantastic story about a journey to Mars. At a school dance he meets a young Elise, and falls in love with her. A few days later, Nemo goes to Elise's house.

Paralysis

At Elise's house, Nemo sees him with her 22-year-old boyfriend, and leaves. Frustrated, he speeds with his motorcycle on a forest road, until he slips on a leaf, falls and is hospitalized in a state of paralysis. He can feel smells and heat, he can see light through closed eyelids, but can not move. There is an allusion to the reunification of the parents, they also come to visit him. Nemo tries to remember the movement of his fingers on the typewriter keyboard, and in the last scene of this storyline, he manages to lift a finger.

Life with Elise

At Elise's house, Nemo speaks with her, but she rejects him saying she loves another man, Stefano. Nemo keeps assuring her of his feelings. Finally Elise gives in, and they marry. In one storyline, Elise dies in an accident on the return from the wedding. Nemo keeps her ashes, having promised her to spread them on Mars. After doing so, aboard the spacecraft on its way, he meets Anna, but the ship crashes due to an encounter with meteorites. In another storyline, Nemo does not fly to Mars. He works at a television studio, and while returning home he sees the car of his editor being pulled up from a lake. At his funeral, Nemo meets the deceased man's wife, who turns out to be Anna.

Another storyline has Nemo and Elise married with three children. Their marriage is very unhappy because Elise suffers from chronic depression.She has hysteric attacks, and despite Nemo's attempts to save their marriage, in the end Elise leaves the house.

Life with Jean

After Elise rejects Nemo, he goes home and tells his father that he'll marry the first girl who will dance with him that night. At the club he meets Jean, they dance, and while taking her home on his motorcycle, Nemo makes what he later defines "a lot of silly decisions": "One, I will never leave anything to chance again; two, I will marry the girl on my motorcycle; three, I'll be rich; four, we'll have a house, a big house, painted yellow, with a garden, and two children, Paul and Michael; five, I'll have a convertible, a red convertible, and a swimming pool, I'll learn to swim; six, I will not stop until I succeed!"

Despite having succeeded in following his plans, Nemo is unhappy, and his life is boring and unpleasant. Nemo starts reliyng on the flipping of a coin to make decisions. He pretends being a person named Daniel Jones, and when he gets to a hotel room he is either killed by mistake in the bathroom and buried in the woods, or survives the gunshot and is taken to the hospital.

Not born

In another storyline, Nemo is in a strange city, and following the instructions that he finds around, he ends up in an abandoned house, where he finds a video. In the video, 118 year old Nemo explains him that he doesn't exist. Either his parents did not meet, or his father died in a sled accident as a child, or his parents could not conceive a child, or a prehistoric ancestor of his was killed.

Ending

Before his death, Mr. Nobody tells they both don't exist: they are in the mind of Nemo as a boy, when he has to make a choice at the railway station. Mr. Nobody dies, but at that moment the expansion of the universe starts reverting and time starts going backwards. At the railway station, Nemo chooses a third way, and follows a perpendicular road, away from both parents. There is a hint that the road Nemo chooses will eventually lead to meeting Anna again, and the movie ends with the couple as kids, at a lake shore.

Cast

• Jared Leto as Nemo Nobody, both 34 and 118 years old
• Diane Kruger as Anna, Nemo's one true love
• Sarah Polley as Elise, Nemo's wife with borderline personality disorder in one reality
• Linh Dan Pham as Jean, Nemo's wealthy but loveless wife in another reality
• Rhys Ifans and Natasha Little as Nemo's parents
• Toby Regbo as Nemo when 16 years old
• Thomas Byrne as Nemo when 9 years old
• Juno Temple as Anna when 15 years old
• Clare Stone as Elise when 15 years old
• Allan Corduner as Nemo's psychiatrist
• Daniel Mays as the young journalist that interviews the protagonist
• Jaco Van Dormael as the Brazilian man, a cameo appearance

Production

Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael began seeking to film Mr. Nobody in 2001, an attempt that lasted six years before the director was able to make his English-language feature debut in 2007.^[3] Van Dormael's project differed from other Belgian productions in being filmed in English instead of in one of Belgium's main languages. The director explained, "The story came to me in English. It's a story set over very long distances and time frames. One of the strands of the plot is about a kid who must choose between living with his mother in Canada or his father in England. There are also some incredible English-speaking actors I wanted to work with."^[4] Mr. Nobody is Van Dormael's first feature film since the Belgian film Le huitième jour (The Eighth Day) in 1996.^[3] Van Dormael began preparing production of Mr. Nobody in February 2007 with actress Sarah Polley the first to be cast in the film.^[5] Actor Jared Leto was later cast into the primary role of Nemo Nobody. Actress Eva Green was originally reported to be cast into the film, but the casting was not confirmed.^[1]

The production budget for Mr. Nobody was €37 million (US$58 million), ranking it the most expensive Belgian film to date. The budget was approved before casting was done, based on the prominence of the director's name and the strength of his script. Half of the budget was provided by the film's French producer Philippe Godeau through his production company Pan-Européenne, and the other half was financed by distributors Wild Bunch and Pathé.^[4] Production took place throughout 2007, lasting 120 days and filming in Belgium, Germany, and Canada. Scenes were filmed on location in Montreal, Canada and at Babelsberg Studios in Berlin, Germany.^[6] The three lives that Nemo Nobody experiences were separated by color coding and musical cues. Each life's design was also based on the work of British photographer Martin Parr.^[7]

While producing the film, Van Dormael took the unique step of publishing his screenplay.^[7] The director described the scale of the film, "My producers don't like me saying it, but it's really a big-budget experimental film about the many different lives one person can live, depending on the choices he makes. It's about the infinite possibilities facing any person. There are no good or bad choices in life. It's simply that each choice will create another life for you. What's interesting is to be alive."^[6][7]

Color in the film

The different colors used in the film have special, symbolic meanings. Each of the three main storylines has its own unique hue that highlights their originality and unlikeness to each other. Color differentiation can be traced as far back as Nemo's childhood, where three girls sit on a bench. They are his possible future wives: Jean, Elise and Anna; one in yellow, the other in blue, the third in a red dress. In his life with Elise, Nemo experiences the consequences of depression and despair, themes associated with the color blue. Choosing Jean, Nemo seeks material well-being and independence. Yellow - the color of life and wealth - emphasizes this. The true love and passionate relationship between Nemo and Anna is symbolized by the red color of Anna's dress.

It is noteworthy that the unborn Nemo is shown living in a white world. White contains all colors of the visible spectrum, this supports the allegorical message of the film that all things are possible until a choice is made. By the end of his life Nemo is a decrepit old man, and lives in a white surrounding (room, clothes, doctor). This way we can see that the fate of the protagonist leads him back to the origins from where he started, the point at which everything is possible.

Post production

The film was edited by Susan Shipton and Matyas Veress. Special effects were produced by Modus FX, Fly Studio and Rodeo FX in Montreal and Digital Graphics in Belgium.

Themes

The experiment with the pigeon

Pigeon is placed in a box in which there is a button with the wire, and the window, behind which are the grain. When you press the shutter the windows up, and dove can take food. "Like most living creatures, the dove quickly connects the rising curtain with the appearance of food. But if you give the grain every 20 seconds, the pigeon will think: "What I earned it?" If at this moment he clapped his wings, he would slap them and then, in full confidence that this is a defining force. We call it "pigeon superstition. '"

The Big Bang

"What happened before the Big Bang? The fact that there was no "before": before the Big Bang, time did not exist. Birth of the time - the result of expansion of the universe. But what happens when the universe will stop expanding and will move in the opposite direction? What then is the nature of time? If string theory is correct, the universe has nine space dimensions and one time. We can assume that at the beginning of all the measurements have been intertwined, and after the Big Bang have identified three well-known to us: height, width and depth and another dimension, we know as time. The remaining five were in their infancy and tangled condition. If we live in a world of twisted dimensions, how do we distinguish illusion from reality? We've learned that time moves in one direction. But what if one of the dimensions are not spatial, and temporal? "

Love

"What happens when we fall in love? Under the influence of the stimulus hypothalamus emits a powerful charge of endorphins. But why is this woman or this man? Perhaps an individual set of pheromones gives us a genetic signal? Or we learn the features of someone's appearance? Mom's eyes? The scent awakens pleasant memories? Perhaps love - this is part of the plan? Weapon in the war two types of reproduction? Bacteria and viruses - asexual organisms. With each division, they mutate and improve faster than we are. Against this we have only one deadly weapon - sex. Two people mix their genes, shuffled the deck and create a new man. The less it looks like the parents, the better the resistance to viruses. What if we unwitting soldiers in a war between two kinds of reproduction? "

Innate fear

"To what extent innate our fears? If over the heads of geese, grown in an incubator to a silhouette of a flying goose chicks elongated neck and zapischat. But if you change the direction of motion, the silhouette becomes like a hawk. The chicks will respond immediately: they prizhmutsya from fear to the ground, though never in my life seen a falcon. Without anyone's innate fear prompts to help them survive. But the people, how to appeal to ancient dangers inherent fear? "

The principle of entropy

"Why not smoke a cigarette in the back? Why molecules fly away from each other? Why not take the Blob again a distinct form? Because the universe tends to decay. This is the principle of entropy, the desire of the universe to a state of increasing disorder. The principle of entropy associated with the concept of time's arrow , resulting in expansion of the universe. But what if the force of gravity extends to outweigh the force or energy of the quantum vacuum is too low? At this point in the universe can begin stage of compression, "Big Cotton". So what will happen over time? Will it reverse? No one knows the answer. "

Reception

Director Jaco Van Dormael along with actors Sarah Polley, Jared Leto, Linh Dan Pham and Diane Kruger at the 66th Venice International Film Festival.

Mr. Nobody was first presented at the 66th Venice International Film Festival and the Osella for Best Production Designer went to Sylvie Olivé.

In September 2009, Mr. Nobody was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and was received positively.

It won the People's Choice Award 2010 at the 23rd European Film Awards.^[8][9]

This movie also appeared at The 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2010 in the section Focus on Belgian Film.^[10]

On June 25, 2011, it screened for the very first time in the United States at the Los Angeles Film Festival, nearly two years since its original debut.

Soundtrack

Several tracks are used more than once in the film; hence, the tracklisting below is organized alphabetically by artist.

• Buddy Holly – "Everyday"
• Ella Fitzgerald – "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall"
• Emmylou Harris – "Mister Sandman"
• Erik Satie – "Gnossiene No. 3"
• Erik Satie – "Je te veux"
• Erik Satie – "Gymnopédies No. 3: Lent et grave"
• Eurythmics – "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
• Gabriel Faure – "Pavane Op. 50"
• Gob – "Mr. Sandman"
• Hans Zimmer – "God Yu Tekkem Laef Blong Mi"
• Laurie Anderson – "O Superman"
• Nena – "99 Luftballons"
• Otis Redding – "For Your Precious Love"
• Pierre Van Dormael – "Mr. Nobody"
• Pierre Van Dormael – "Undercover"
• The Andrews Sisters – "Rum and Coca-Cola"
• The Chordettes – "Mister Sandman"
• Pixies – "Where Is My Mind?"
• Vincenzo Bellini – "Casta diva"
• Wallace Collection – "Daydream"

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Feuillère, Anne (15 June 2007). "Van Dormael’s ambitious Mr Nobody". Cineuropa.org (Cineuropa). http://cineuropa.org/newsdetail.aspx?documentID=77937. Retrieved 17 July 2007. 
2. ^ Bernard Werber 25. Birth of Jacques / / Empire of Angels = L'empire des Anges - Geleos, AST, 2008. - 448. - ISBN 5-8189-0681-7 .
3. ^ ^{a b} Kit, Borys (17 July 2007). "'Mr. Nobody' cares for two somebodies". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i05c91b467479f8650e3b0079de579316. Retrieved 17 July 2007. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Grey, Tobias (15 May 2008). "Belgian directors go genre route". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117985769.html?categoryId=3059&cs=1. Retrieved 24 May 2008. 
5. ^ James, Alison (12 February 2007). "Van Dormael prepares 'Nobody'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=features2007&content=jump&jump=story&dept=berlin&nav=Nberlin&articleid=VR1117959274&starting=11&query=mr%2E+nobody. Retrieved 17 July 2007. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Kelly, Brendan (15 October 2007). "Nobody shooting in town". The Gazette. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=eb8163f3-99ad-4dec-a298-96505e1223f1. Retrieved 24 May 2008. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Johnston, Sheila (28 March 2008). "Jaco van Dormael — The return of a hero". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/jaco-van-dormael--the-return-of-a-hero-801402.html. Retrieved 24 May 2008. 
8. ^ http://europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/peopleschoiceaward/vote
9. ^ The Winners European Film Academy. Retrieved on 4 December 2010
10. ^ http://www.kviff.com/en/films/film-detail/2995/

External links

• Official website
• Mr. Nobody at the Internet Movie Database