Sweded

Be Kind Rewind
(Michael Gondry, 2008)

4 Stars

I remember getting very excited about Michael Gondry’s underground little film festival entry Be Kind Rewind when I first saw the trailers back in '08. With the oft-irritating but occasionally wonderful Jack Black and the bizarrely endearing Mos Def sending up a variety of classic films, it was surely one not to be missed. The movie, however, like so many that year, came and passed without my realising. Gawd bless Aberystwyth and its one cinema.

So, upon my Friday night journey to the video store (which is not the most simple of adventures in Japan, seeing as my reading fluency is currently about that of a five year old child, and most films here have an entirely unrelated name from the English language original), I was rather pleased to stumble upon a copy of “Our Future Depends on the Reverse Fortune of This Shop “ amidst the sci-fi and horror section (I don’t know either…). I also got a Hannah Montana poster from the “old posters we’re getting rid of” bin, but that’s neither here nor there…

Set in a decaying video store, Be Kind Rewind has a distinctively eighties feel about it, at times reminding me of Batteries Not Included and Scrooged due to its “saving an old building” theme and almost cringingly feel-good ending. But that aside, it’s a ruddy good film. Black is on fine form, in possibly his best role since High Fidelity, as a hopeless film fan who, after being magnetised in a freak accident, inadvertently wipes all the tapes at his friend Mike’s (Mos Def) video store.

In an attempt to rectify their mistake before their boss returns from a research trip, the two decide to recreate the movies using a hand-held camera and no cash. These “sweded” films are certainly the highlight of the movie (most notably the first Ghostbusters skit), and yet at no point do they overshadow the rather touching storyline of an old man (Danny Glover) about to lose his life to modernisation.

Technically, the film is beautifully shot, managing to imitate the films which it lampoons, as well as creating its own style in itself. The final act, in which our heroes create their own original film, shows a real artistry, both in the film itself and the film within the film. I shall remember to use an old fan next time I want to make an old-looking movie.

Be Kind Rewind is not the rip-roaring comedy that most viewers probably would have expected, but is in fact an intelligent and touching tale of changing times and a wonderful homage to some classic flicks. And some not so classic ones…