Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?

Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy? (2013) is an animated documentary you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Michel Gondry. Gondry recorded a series of conversations with linguist, philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky, then drew over every minute of footage by hand — turning speech, digression and abstract thought into fluid, constantly mutating animation.

Chomsky talks about how language shapes concepts, why human cognition has hard limits, and what it means to know something at all. Gondry admits early on that he often feels out of his depth. That admission is the film's best decision: it keeps the conversation from becoming a lecture and makes space for confusion, which turns out to be the most honest response to Chomsky's ideas anyway. Runtime: 88 minutes, produced in France.

The hand-drawn format does something no straight interview could: it externalizes thought. Watching a concept take shape on screen — drawn, redrawn, corrected — is closer to how the mind actually works than a clean talking-head setup would be. For anyone who found Chomsky's written work impenetrable, this is a more generous entry point. Stream Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy? (2013) online on iFILM.