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The outcome is a close cousin of “The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology” (itself a sequel to “The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema”), which involves fellow academic superstar Slavoj Zizek dressing up in costumes while discussing the theoretical underpinnings of popular art. Rather than crafting a seminal overview of Chomsky’s career, Gondry magnifies his fascination with the older man’s intelligence. As a result, “Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?” becomes an amusing chronicle of their relationship: Gondry, the restless inquisitive amateur, constantly assails the gravelly-voiced Chomsky with questions about nature versus nurture and other pertinent topics, though no overarching agenda takes hold. Gondry constantly shifts between Chomsky’s psychological insights and audio from their ongoing discussions, which unfolded over the course of several months. The gamble pays off: “Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?” bears the stamp of Gondry quirk but allows it to feel a lot more intimate than anything he’s done since “Eternal Sunshine.” While Gondry previously made a personal diary film with 2009’s “The Thorn in the Heart,” a delicate look at his “Auntie,” this latest project has universal access points. But it’s also a welcome excuse, after his large scale and poorly received efforts “The Green Hornet” and “Mood Indigo,” to change things up. For Gondry, whose initial narrative features “Human Nature” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” took cues from the epistemologically off-beat screenplays of Charlie Kaufman, the prospects of talking through Chomsky’s intellect has personal stakes.
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In its introductory sequence, the director explains (with a handily subtitled voiceover he provides to wade through his thick French accent) his attraction to Chomsky’s ideas about the secrets of the human mind after encountering several of his books. A rather bizarre mismatch on paper, Gondry’s eccentric look at Chomsky’s intellectual proclivities leads to a thoughtful examination of both director and star. It also connects the seemingly loose, blithe style of Gondry’s hand drawn framing device with the typically pensive Chomsky at the story’s center.