Be Kind Rewind

Colour, 35 mm
USA, 2008, 102 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Jerry and Mike are life-long friends. When mechanic Jerry manages to erase the cassettes in the video rental store where Mike works, they try to avert catastrophe by making their own version of the deleted films. Their quirky remakes begin to generate demand and even lawyers from a movie studio find out about them. Will this mean the end of the suburban moviemakers or their rise to fame? Michel Gondry once again shows the almost childish playfulness that can be created with digital effects and models made out of glue and aluminium foil. Be Kind Rewind is neither a comment on film piracy nor a requiem for the days of the videocassette. Set against the narrative complexity of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the film exalts the power of simplicity, which is every bit as magnetic as the protagonists. The director invites audiences to share in his fascination with film on the movie’s website, where visitors can take part in making “pirate” versions of famous films.

About the director

Michel Gondry (b. 1963, Versailles, France) made his first music videos for his group Oui Oui and has worked with dozens of leading musicians since the 1990s including Björk, Beck, the Foo Fighters and The Rolling Stones. His feature film debut Human Nature (2001) was his first collaboration with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman who also worked on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2003), which won Gondry and Kaufman an Oscar for Best Screenplay and was presented to Karlovy Vary audiences in 2004. Gondry’s interest in music was also reflected in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (2005), screened in Karlovy Vary. Following The Science of Sleep (2005), Be Kind Rewind is his fifth feature film.