With Be Kind Rewind, Michel Gondry hasn't set his prodigious imagination and leanings towards fantasy aside. However, for the first time, he's grounded one of his films in working-class reality, while still including conceits like a man whose magnetized presence erases VHS tapes. Set in a VHS-only store in New Jersey, it follows Mike (Mos Def) and Jerry (Jack Black), who begin remaking films - "sweding," in the film's terminology - like Ghostbusters and Rush Hour on tiny budgets, after Jerry accidentally destroys the store's stock. Mostly shot in 35mm, it uses low-grade video to represent Mike and Jerry¹s achievements. Perhaps the most surprising thing about it is the way it gradually evolves into a utopian celebration of DIY, community-based filmmaking, as Mike and Jerry turn from remakes to a film about jazz pianist Fats Waller. You're not likely to see a studio release with a more irreverent attitude towards using copyrighted material as a springboard for original creativity.
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Comments (1) for "Michel Gondry's Rewind to Low-Tech Filmmaking"
1.
Michel Gondry is one the
most innovative music directors of
the nineties.
His successful
crossover from video to film
is groundbreaking. His ability in handling shoe string budgets is amazing.
His niche lays in the fact he has ample amount of experience in set designing.
Look at his budget for 'Be Kind Rewind',of £30 million dollars.A meagre sum by Hollywood standards.
Posted by Loz on Sunday, September 21, 2008 @ 06:30 AM
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