The whimsy nature of Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind) meets the adolescent exploration of the coming-of-age genre in Microbe & Gasoline. Following two young friends that build a house on wheels in order to take a road trip across France, Gondry surprisingly downplays the potentially fantastical elements of this premise. Sure, the filmmaker indulges in a backward dream sequence and a homemade house on wheels, but even the execution of those components is decidedly restrained in comparison to Gondry’s previous effort, his arts and craftsterpiece Mood Indigo. His latest film is an enchanting, youthful romp with a truly laissez-faire attitude towards growing up.

Daniel (Ange Dargent in his feature debut), nicknamed “Microbe” by his classmates for his diminutive size (though he points out he’s not the shortest kid in school), is a social outcast frustrated by being overlooked or mistaken for a girl. He avoids the other boys in school, preferring to sketch portraits of a girl he speaks to but won’t pursue. Daniel finds kinship with the arrival of Théo (Théophile Baquet), a new boy whose souped-up bicycle and engine-repair hobby earns him the name “Gasoline” (as well as snide comments about his diesel smell). When the pair grows tired of their school and their moms, Microbe & Gasoline hatch a plan to build a portable shelter to transport themselves around the countryside for the summer. Should it be a car? Should it have a shack? Why not both?

Microbe & Gasoline is less concerned with the consequences of the boys’ actions than it is with their routes to self-discovery. As the young teens leave behind their families, the film does as well. The policemen whom Daniel and Théo worry will disapprove of their unlicensed vehicle instead want a selfie with their jalopy RV. They undertake this journey with only minor complications. Rather than condescend to its protagonists, the story embodies the boys’ budding desire for independence and treats each moment with the level of significance it has to the film’s characters. Gondry demonstrates real affection for his naively inquisitive pair, and their funny, genuine but juvenile heart-to-hearts.

Despite its eccentricities, Microbe & Gasoline can’t help but feel overly familiar at times. Like too many of these unconfident adolescent stories, Daniel’s insecurities are largely alleviated by a slight makeover and a pep talk about a girl. His mopiness isn’t as engaging as Théo’s defiant goofiness. Among somewhat recent young male-skewing escapist semi-fantasy, 2013’s The Kings of Summer more effectively conveys the annoyance of being caught between childhood and maturity. What allows both of these movies to succeed is the specificity in the characterization of its leads. In Microbe & Gasoline, Daniel and Théo are distinct, charming young men that behave like actual teenagers.

Gondry’s work can feel devoid of cynicism. The only cynical characters in his latest movie are the stifling adults who aim to get in Daniel and Théo’s way. This might be too precious for some audiences, but their exuberant adventure is often fun enough to merit the idealism. The very French Microbe & Gasoline entertainingly captures the adolescent yearning for independence from an adult regimented world.

No filmmaker could pull off adapting Boris Vian’s “unfilmable” novel better than the inventive Michel Gondry. Before the opening titles finish Gondry demonstrates his trademark whimsy and wacky production style; a chef receives ingredients through a television set, sunlight creates guitar strings, an assembly line of people rapidly finishing sentences on typewriters passing by on conveyor belts, and a doorbell that turns into a spider-like creature. You’ll be in for a long film if the opening sequence doesn’t fascinate you. Mood Indigo is an ambitious visual feast with more flair than underlying substance, ultimately becoming overwhelming by the end.

Colin (Romain Duris) is a wealthy inventor who lives in an extravagant Parisian apartment with his chef/lawyer/mentor Nicolas (Omar Sy). He cheerfully shows off his latest invention called a pianocktail, a piano that translates musical notes into a different cocktail flavors. But Colin’s mood quickly changes upon realizing the one thing missing from his life is love. Suddenly he decides his solitude is absolutely dreadful and demands to fall in love. So he sets out to accomplish just that.

At a dinner party, Colin instantly falls in love with a “girl like a Duke Ellington tune” named Chloe, played by the dashing Audrey Tautou. After wooing her by dancing the biglemoi, a jazzy dance in which the dancer’s legs stretch to impossible proportions, Colin decides to take her hand in marriage. But shortly after they do, Chloe begins to have fainting spells caused by a flower growing inside her lungs.

The amount of creative visual flair found in Mood Indigo is second to none. Gondry creates a fantasy dream world where underground forests exist along with a pair of shoes that have a mind of their own and shadows that can chase after you. One of the most memorable scenes is when the couple happily float above Paris in a cloud ride operated by a large crane (a literal expression of the phrase ‘floating on a cloud’). Gondry also shows off his technical skills. In an impressive honeymoon sequence, he implements a split-screen to divide the same shot where it’s raining on one side and sunny on the other. The contrast between the weather signifies change as the second half of Mood Indigo gets a little dark. Well, dark for a Gondry film anyways. Gloom visually settles in when the color of everything fades to monochrome and walls literally shrink to close in on characters.

While it’s a pleasure to marvel at these visuals, they eventually grow tiresome by the end of the two-hour film (note: Gondry did re-edit the film for the US release which cuts out about 30 minutes). That’s because almost every scene has something animating, morphing, or twitching. It simply becomes overstimulating. Also, the stop-motion animation adds charm and visual flair but rarely offers meaningful substance to the scene.

The biggest issue with Mood Indigo is not being able to balance the wildly imaginative cinematography with meaningful storytelling. Sometimes the film is weird just to be weird—a feat that Gondry has mastered — resulting in more fluff than essential moments. It’s hard to put all the blame on Gondry (he did adapt the story from a highly experimental novel), but none of the emotional notes were felt between the two leads despite solid performances from both. Mood Indigo has breathtaking imagery and heaps of whimsical charm, but is often exhausting at the same time.

David Lynch fans rejoice, soon there will be nearly an hour of deleted scenes from Blue Velvet. Deleted scenes from the cult classic 1986 noir Blue Velvet were found on the blu-ray edition of the film but have recently made their way to YouTube. [Dangerous Minds]

Penelope Cruz has been confirmed for upcoming Ridley Scott and Pedro Almodovar films. Her extensive previous work with director Pedro Almodovar makes the news less surprising but still welcoming. The name of the film will be called Standby Lovers. She will join the cast of Ridley Scott’s The Counselor which is comprised of huge names including Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, and Javier Bardem. [The Playlist]

Images from Michel Gondry’s upcoming French production Mood Indigo surfaced this week. Audrey Tatou (Amelie) will be the lead in the adaptation of Boris Vian’s 1947 novel Froth On The Daydream. The stills definitely appear to have Gondry’s creative touch to them. [Twitch]

Philip Seymour Hoffman goes agentless after leaving Paradigm after 18 years with the agency. Aside from appearing Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master he just finished a role which director Mike Nichols has said may be the most taxing stage role on an actor. [Deadline]

Rumors have been circling that Emma Watson and Ray Winstone could star in Darren Aronofsky’s Biblical epic Noah. According to Deadline Ray Winstone may get a villain role in the film to go opposite of Russell Crowe. Emma Watson is apparently in talks to play Ila, a young woman who befriends Noah’s son, Shem. [Deadline]

The special animated companion to Moonrise Kingdom is now available to watch online for free. This Wes Anderson animated short does not contain any spoilers to Moonrise Kingdom therefore do not be hesitant to watch it if you have not seen the film yet. [EW]

The female cast from Your Sisters Sister sat down for an interview with Coming Soon to talk about the process of developing characters and how much of the film was improvised. One of the most amazing facts is that the entire crew for the film was only 16 people (and the film was shot in just 12 days). The whole interview is worth reading and if you haven’t read our review of Your Sisters Sister check it out now. [Coming Soon]