MR. NOBODY • Mr. Nobody is a science fiction

drama film. It was written and directed by Jaco Van Dormael, produced by Philippe Godeau, and starred Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger. Mr. Nobody has become a cult film, noted for its philosophy and cinematography, personal characters and Pierre Van Dormael's soundtrack.

• Jaco Van Dormael is a Belgian film director, screenwriter and playwright. His complex and critically acclaimed films are especially noted for their respectful and sympathetic portrayal of people with mental and physical disabilities.

PLOTIn the year 2092, Nemo is recounting his life story

to a reporter. He tells of his life at three primary points in his life: at age nine, age sixteen and age thirty-four.

Nemo explains that before birth, children remember everything that will happen in their lives. At the moment of conception, the Angels of Oblivion erase their memory. The Angels, however, forget about Nemo, allowing him to "remember" different possible futures for himself. At age 9, at a railway station, he is forced to choose as his mother leaves on a train while his father stays on the platform. In one case, he manages to board the train while in another he stays with his father.

The confusing aspect of the story is that he tells of alternate life paths, often changing course with the flick of a decision at each of those ages. One life path has him ultimately married to Elise, a depressed woman who never got over the unrequited love. A second life path has him married to Jean. Their life is one of luxury but one also of utter boredom. And a third life path has him in a torrid romance with his step-sister Anna, the two who, as adults, would search for each other after having been torn apart as teenagers. Are any of these lives real or are they all

a figment of his imagination?

MR. NOBODY

CAST• Jared Leto as Nemo

Nobody. Nemo is a Latin word meaning "nobody".

• Leto described his role saying, "Mr. Nobody is everyone and no one all at the same time, an illusion, the product of his own dreams. He's love, he's hope, he's fear, he's life and he's death. This is without doubt the most complex character I've ever played".

CAST• Diane Kruger as Anna.

Kruger described Anna as "the most complete of all the characters. She never makes any compromises, in any one of her lives. She gets married and keeps her promise until the end: she will not fall in love with anyone else.“

• Actress Juno Temple portrays Anna at fifteen.

CAST• Sarah Polley as Elise. She

describes Elise as "a young woman who carries a lot of love inside her. She yearns to be the best of mothers but just can't do it. She's frustrated because of this inability to live the way she would like to live."

CAST• Linh Dan Pham as Jeanne. Pham said

that Jeanne "loves Nemo Nobody with a passion but he doesn't love her. She thought he was honest and full of love for her. But as soon as they start a family she realizes that something is missing in their relationship, that he's never really there.“

• Actress Audrey Giacomini portrays Jeanne at fifteen.

AWARDS AND BOX OFFICE

THEMES• Mr. Nobody is a tale about choice. Nemo, a nine-year-old boy, has been

thrust into a position where he must make an impossible decision – to choose between his mother and father. In the seconds preceding the rest of his life, he wonders where each choice will take him.

• How actions have universal consequences, how the past inevitably shapes the future in a very impacting way – every single choice, no matter its simplicity or complexity can make, alter or change a lifetime.

THEMES• The film also makes substantial use of chaos theory, string theory, and the

butterfly effect to accentuate the lack of control that humanity as individuals possesses. The theories are used to compound reality in the film, it is why the smoke never goes back into the cigarette, time is always moving in one direction.

• The tale of Nemo Nobody reflects a life of choices, whether or not we made the correct choice and what would happen if we could go back and change them.

THEMES• The different colors used in the

film have 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: Jeanne, Elise, and Anna; one in yellow, the other in blue, and the third in a red dress.