Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008)

Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008)
Rating: 7.3

As a fan of director, Michel Gondry and his unique visual art and creativity I must admit that I carry a bit of a bias. Gondry follows up his eccentric Science of Sleep with a more accessible comedy with a brilliant premise in which a the protagonists (Mos Def and Jack Black) accidentally destroy all of the tapes in their Boss's small video/thrift store and attempt to recreate the films themselves. The character's and the situations are a bit over the top and even illogical at times, and the general plot points are pretty formulaic, however Gondry's flare for the unique and quirky still manages to capture the spotlight and make up for the flaws. I was displeased with some of the continuity in the editing, and wasn't a big fan of parts of the soundtrack that sounded like royalty free music; writing isn't Gondry's strongest point either. The script mostly seems contrived in order to showcase Gondry's aesthetics. Like any other generic script the conflict is introduced in the first 15 minutes. Mr. Fletcher's store is on the verge of being demolished and replaced by condos. The initial 15 minutes left me skeptical, but once the remakes began production or "Sweded" films as the characters dub them, I started to get into it. Jack Black provides some comical remarks throughout, but I was mostly amused by the inventive visual tactics used to recreate the films. On top of the captivating visuals, and comedy, Be Kind Rewind has a heart. I found the final scene to be very touching; almost the same sort of earnest sense of community A Wonderful Life evokes. The resolution consists of the community uniting to make their own memories and interpretations of the past from scratch. The film champions the independent filmmaker showing that money shouldn't be a limitation to creating art, however Gondry also addresses the harsh reality that the little guy rarely wins as he portrays bureaucrats and big business as the bullies.