Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Is the Man Who is Tall Happy? An Animated Conversation with Noam Chomsky


Director: Michel Gondry 
Run Time: 89 min. 
Call Number: P85.C47 I8 2014

"On paper, Chomsky and Gondry seem like an eternal mismatch, but these two very smart people share an odd but genuine chemistry, as the director quizzes the philosopher-cognitive scientist on almost every topic under the sun, with the notable exception of politics (odd, perhaps, considering Chomsky's well-documented criticism of the U.S. government). . . . One of the best scenes is when Gondry asks Chomsky, out of the blue, what makes him happy. The linguist appears to be caught off guard and is briefly (very briefly) at a loss for words - a moment that humanizes this intellectual giant." 
David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle