Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Considering the vast array of films whose subject matter introspectively deal with the nature of their medium in itself, it should come as no real surprise that few films paying tribute to the film industry itself boast more than a smile or two in terms of quality. After all, how could such self-serving Hollywood love letters come across as anything more than pretentious and self-congratulatory? It would seem eclectic director Michel Gondry has found the answer, by crafting a film with charm, but not Hollywood glitz, with humour but not generic sight gags, and with heart, but no mainstream sap - Be Kind Rewind is the end result, and a truly laudable feat as consequence.

If taken at face value, Be Kind Rewind may appear simplistic to the point of appearing patronizing at times, but Gondry is too shrewd to operate on directorial autopilot, and instead allows the form and cinematics of his own feature to mimic the unassuming homemade feel of his protagonists' shorts. Indeed, upon closer examination there is much to appreciate, as the structure of the film itself can be taken as allegorical for the development of the film industry itself and its ups and downs: a couple of men fooling around with cameras with no real idea what they were doing impulsively deciding to make movies, which steadily become more streamlined and mass produced (a montage sequence joyfully alludes to the days of "assembly line" Hollywood studio production) as they increasingly become less about art and more about making money. The film also makes witty references to the scare of video pirating in today's culture as well as an examination of the changing home viewing technologies, and the inevitable transition from more nostalgic days of video cassettes to DVDs. But Gondry's film also celebrates the enormous cultural significance of film, and glimpses at the joy of producing them and the heart-warming reaction of viewer enjoyment. Quite simply, Be Kind Rewind can be taken in a nutshell as a movie about loving the movies, which, although potentially coming across as too schmaltzy for some, is surprisingly touching as opposed to dissolving in a mess of Hollywood glitz.

Although the film is without question not without its faults, they scarcely detract from a film so unpretentiously touching and charming. Yes there are certain prominent lapses of credulity, logic, and even some paltry special effects (whether intentionally so or not, they do stand out). Yes some parts do undeniably drag or appear to be slightly off track, and the script carries the "improvised low budget feel" a bit too far in certain segments. But such concerns are easily forgiven when the final product is so earnestly enjoyable, and the "remake" sequences (as Black and Def lampoon such films as Ghostbusters, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Boyz 'n the Hood and Rush Hour 2) are comedic gold, and feel disappointingly rushed, considering their being the primary draw of the film. Similarly, the film's genuinely moving finale is a triumph - one feels transported to the earliest days of audiences screening silent films in a flickering theater with only a whimsical solo piano accompanying, and it hard to resist giving in to the sweeping feeling of genuine nostalgia and heart rather than typical Hollywood tear-jerking. And perhaps this exemplifies the film in itself: one gets the feeling the film could have reached and easily succeeded loftier or more profound aims, but ultimately the film doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is: a celebra

Fmovies: Why not more stars?

I gave this comedy 9 stars because I wholeheartedly believe it deserves it. I pondered on whether I should give it a ten. What puzzles me, though, is that it didn't get more stars, and why there are so many negative reviews on this site (though most are positive). I have a feeling it may be because many of those who gave it negative reviews did not get what they expected. Either because Gondry reached the wrong audience, or the reviewers are comparing it to predefined templates it does not, and should not try to fit into. In other words, they do not really SEE the movie, and complain about "flaws" that could have been relevant if the movie was a completely different one.

Most of the negative reviewers, even many of the positive ones, compares it unfavourably to another Gondry movie, "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind". I saw it got an amazing reviews on IMDb and gave it a shot. I thought it sucked, the story/casting was that of a standard Hollywood romantic-comedy-drama, though the visual part was inspiring and creative. What this means is just that Eternal sunshine and Be Kind Rewind are two very different kinds of movies, probably suited for different kinds of audiences too - though Be Kind... is very accessible and probably will amuse and entertain viewers from most camps.

Therefore, let's look at what the movie will NOT give you:

* Strong, character-driven, tear dropping interpersonal drama, with Hollywood's traditional dose of love and passion, of the kind that Eternal sunshine was.

* Wacky, lighthearted brainless humour like School of Rock.

Some of the reviewers complain about lack of character depth. Perhaps this mantra that all- movies-must-have-character-depth has something to do with the extreme focus on the individual that we have in the western world, and USA especially. The movie is not about individuals or characters, so don't deride it for that. What the movie is about, I'll get back to.

Other negative reviewers complain that it's not quite like "School of Rock". They probably saw Jack Black on the cover and expected something like it. Apart from the ultra-light wacky humour of the opening, this movie is not like that.

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So what does the movie HAVE?

It is a lightheaded comedy about serious things like poverty, capitalism, staying together, how people use art and history to construct their collective identities, and above all, how the perfectionism and glitzy effects of modern film-making takes the joy and creativity away from the people and makes us passive consumers. It's about taking the joy and power of creativity back to the people, and the communities where it belongs. A bit like the punk revolution in the music scene brought tons of kids out in the garage to start their own bands, just far more inclusive and accessible.

But here's the GREAT part: The movie doesn't TRY so hard to be smart, political etc... Don't expect high- brow humour because you won't get it here! It is all packed into a light comedy frame, and almost exclusively looks at the bright side of life, with a heartwarming belief in the good of people and the strength of people staying together. It's hilarious, but slightly cultish, those in love of cult movies and seeking and alternative to a Hollywood machine drenched in dollars will absolutely love it. Others will have a great time too.

Watch it. But watch it for what it is, not for what i

Just reading a brief synopsis got me fairly hyped for Be Kind Rewind. The film was written and directed by Michel Gondry, who directed my favourite movie in the last five years, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, so it was a no-brainer that this would be a movie I would want to see. But unfortunately, the idea seemed to be a whole lot better than the final product.

Mike (Mos Def) works at an aging video rental story in New Jersey run by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). Despite the advent of DVD, the store only carries VHS tapes, and rents them to local customers at a fee far cheaper than the usual rental store. The store is apparently a landmark, so Mr. Fletcher does not want to give into local developers looking to turn the block into a nice piece of real estate. He leaves Mike in charge for a few days, but leaves specific instructions for him to not his friend Jerry (Jack Black) into the store. He does, and after a rather amusing accident, Jerry manages to erase all of the tapes in the store. To help cover this up, Mike and Jerry begin to film their own versions of the films.

It sounds creative on paper, but Be Kind Rewind is too muddled in subplots to really take advantage of its outrageous idea. The entire landmark dispute becomes rather boring and annoying right after it is mentioned, and the frequent mention of jazz musician Fats Waller loses its sentimental and nostalgic touch far too early on in the film. It just lacks the focus of Eternal Sunshine, and lacks the daring scope of The Science of Sleep, another film by Gondry. While Sleep was not all that great either, it seems to have had a much better grip on the point of the movie than Rewind does. It mopes around far too much, and I found myself more bored than I ever thought I would be watching it. I wanted to be interested, but the film did not make for many interesting moments. It has a sense of purpose and clearly knows what it wants to accomplish, but allowing it to seems to be an issue the film can never overcome.

One of these reasons may be the lack of depth in the characters. We learn very little about Mike or Jerry, and their pasts and motivations seem to never come up. We just know the basics, and that seems to be enough. Ditto for Mr. Fletcher, the frequent customer Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow) and Alma (Melonie Diaz), who seems to get thrown into the mix rather randomly half way through the film, and never seems to fully materialize as anything other than being a female in a primarily male dominated main cast. Gondry clearly has a point for these characters to be here interacting (and a couple of curious supporting characters like Irv Gooch's Wilson, who lend the film a lot of its laughs), but he does not seem to want to make them be anything more than near one-dimensional cut-outs. I do not want to make them seem as simplistic as that, but more often than not, I really found myself not seeing anything other than that.

When the film actually gets to its key drawing point, the re-filming of the VHS movies (or sweding as the film refers to it as), it does bring in a lot of that creative depth Gondry is known for. Using many different angles and stylistic devices, Gondry remakes specific scenes out of these movies with ease, and brings a lot of humour to them as well. Watching Def and Black redo Ghostbusters is absolutely hysterical, as is their redoing of Driving Miss Daisy, King Kong, We Were Kings and 2001: A Space Odyssey. But unfortunately, these scenes are really short and sweet, and many of them are never lingered on. Freq

Be Kind Rewind fmovies. This is a silly but harmless fun piece of fluff, guaranteed to put some smiles on your face and give you somewhat of a feel-good feeling when it's over. I'm sure that was the intent, and very little more. It wasn't made to astound anyone or provide huge laughs. Yet, it has a lot of charm and subtle humor.

It's a ludicrous story, so you just can't take anything seriously. The premise is unique: two guys converting a dying video rental store into a success by taking blank tapes of famous movies and making their own 20-minute versions! The new "movies" are so bad, they're good and the neighborhood starts making requests and renting the new "sweded" movies like hotcakes. Goofy? Sure. Tons of plot holes? You bet......but a nice movie.

The more films you know, beginning with "Ghostbusters," the more you'll enjoy this as the guys make these cheap knock-offs on budgets of about a hundred bucks! In addition, Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover and Mia Farrow were all fun to watch.

It's no award-winner, but you could do a lot worse.

This is the latest brainchild of Michel Gondry the one time video maker turned director of 'Eternal Sunshine..' and 'The Science of Sleep' and once again there's a visual feast on offer. On many levels this is just a clever comedy but on many others its much more than that, it is a homage to film-making as a whole, the death of artistry in the face of technology, the sense of community that cinemas can bring in a world where cinema is struggling against the internet and apathy. Jack Black and Mos Def play at odds friends who have an outlet running the local video store 'Be Kind Rewind', with the huge DVD emporium down the road the business is struggling and in danger of being pulled down to make way for condos. After a freak accident wipes all the tapes in the shop the pair decide to remake all the films rather than get caught and lose the shop and this then is where Gondry et al step up to the mark and let their imaginations run wild with hilarious consequences. The first film they make is 'Ghostbusters' and it sets the premises of what is to come as they do their own versions of 'Robocop, Lion King, Rush Hour 2 and Men in Black to name but a few. Black and Def play off each other really well but it's the ingenuity in the sets and lo-fi costumes that make all these little twenty minute 'Swedes' (The tapes are described as having come from Sweden as an excuse for higher rental fees and longer wait times) brilliantly funny. They are even available to watch online and you're also encouraged to make your own! The story is for want of a better word silly and my only criticism I have is that Gondry tends to be too whimsical and over idealistic at times but that said he is portraying a fantasy world where he can play like a child with bits of old rubbish and sticky back plastic and come up with stunning arty creations that shine on screen. With so much subject matter to work with Gondry picks films that he is sure most people will have seen, although I hadn't seen 'Rush Hour 2' and so struggled to find all of that section funny, so on the off chance you haven't seen any of the films being Sweded you may wonder what the hell is going on. Be Kind.. is not a new story or even a new idea but it has new things to say about the state of the industry, copyright law and ownership that hide subtly below the comedy and it is so full of visual ideas it's a film you could quite easily watch again. Not as dark as 'Eternal Sunshine' and slightly better than 'Science of Sleep' Gondry is proving he can do aesthetically great lo-fi films without the lure of CGI or the Hollywood big budget. Like the war between VHS tapes and DVDs Gondry is taking on the big boys and coming out relatively unscathed.

OK let me start off saying that i loved Eternal Sunshine and had pretty high hopes for this film. Michael Gondry did a more than exceptional job to capture the tone of this film which i'll describe as old-school, and scraggly. Jack Black once again played the same part he usually does just a funny weird dude, Mos Def did a real nice job a lot better than I expected after seeing him in Hitchikers Guide to The Galaxy. Danny Glover was really great. But the thing I loved about this film is that it was so different from the usual cliché comedy. The movie does have some flaws but what the heck, just go see it and relax. Its not supposed to be a Citezen Kane. Overall the film was real fun and actually a little touching, so go see it. I recommend it for sure. Real Fun!!