Another of Michel Gondry's most award-winning commercials is Smarienberg, which condenses one schizophrenic action flick into 70 seconds of entertainment. In many of his commercials, Gondry finds unique ways to advance the story. This time he uses a bottle of Smirnoff to shift from one style of action movie to another. To conduct each shift, the virtual camera passes by or through a bottle of Smirnoff, letting the brand speak for itself, in a way.
Gondry takes us through several styles of action sequence. The protagonists are a man and a woman who are fleeing from an evil bald-headed man. Gondry follows the chase as it goes from a restaurant to a boat, a train, through a sci-fi western, then into a dark alley.
As you watch the clip, look for a few of Gondry's favorite techniques: time-slice photography and background projection.
Director Spike Jonze did an homage to Smarienberg in Being John Malkovich, where Malkovich is being chased by two women through his own subconscious.
You can see this commercial here, here, and on Gondry's Directors Label DVD.
