Film Reviews

Be Kind Rewind

• Rating:
• Director: Michel Gondry
• Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow
• Details: USA / 94mins (12A)

Gondry can be an acquired taste, but Be Kind Rewind is his most accessible work to date; although the weird and wonderful idiosyncrasies the director of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and The Science Of Sleep possesses are all present and correct, they are, to a large extent, toned down to allow the bittersweet story full reign. Mike (Def) works in a neighbourhood video store run by Danny Glover's old coot, and spends most of his time keeping kooky best friend Jerry (Black) from driving the customers away. When Jerry becomes magnetised (don't ask) and accidentally erases all videos in the store, they have no choice but to re-shoot all the movies themselves - but will their low-rent, no budget, crap remakes pass for the real thing? In Hearts Of Darkness, the documentary on Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola mumbled something about when cameras are made cheap and fall into the hands of the people on the street, only then will film become a true art form. Gondry touches on this, but what he's really saying with Be Kind Rewind, is that movies don't belong to the Hollywood producers and their lawyers; we all own a piece of that pie - movies belong to you, me and the guy next door and it's this heart-warming, if unrealistic, dream that will stay with the viewer long after the credits roll. Before they do, however, Be Kind Rewind's running gags will get all the laughs they deserve - the re-enactments of Robocop, Driving Miss Daisy, Rush Hour 2 and Ghostbusters are nothing short of hilarious. Def and Black make for an amiable partnership and the natural flow to their simple dialogue pulls the viewer into a cuddly bear hug. Be Kind Rewind just might be the Velvet Underground of films - anyone who watches it might go out and make their own.

Review by Gavin Burke