Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Director:

Michel Gondry

Writer:

Michel Gondry (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

You name it, we shoot it

Plot:

A man whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Video Store | Sabotage | Power Plant | Deception

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jack Black	...	Jerry Gerber
Mos Def	...	Mike
Danny Glover	...	Elroy Fletcher
Mia Farrow	...	Miss Falewicz
Melonie Diaz	...	Alma
Irv Gooch	...	Wilson
Chandler Parker	...	Craig
Arjay Smith	...	Manny
Quinton Aaron	...	Q
Gio Perez	...	Randy
Basia Rosas	...	Andrea
Tomasz Soltys	...	Carl
Marcus Carl Franklin	...	Kid #1
Blake Hightower	...	Kid #2
Amir Ali Said	...	Kid #3

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references. (also video version)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43318) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Australia:PG | Norway:7 | Denmark:A | Sweden:Btl | Singapore:PG | Germany:o.Al. | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-3 | Greece:K | Netherlands:AL | USA:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIA | Australia:M | France:U | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Iceland:L | New Zealand:M | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Hackensack, New Jersey, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Director Michel Gondry insisted on using the inhabitants of Passaic, New Jersey (the film was shot on location in Passaic, the town where the story of the movie actually takes place) as extras and some as prominent actors throughout the film. The scene where the inhabitants get to see "Fats was Born in Passaic" (the biopic and only non-Sweded production) playing on the video store window actually featured the inhabitants watching the movie they had worked long and hard on for the very first time.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The type of movies they were making would definitely have fallen under the "parody" exception of United States copyright law.

Quotes:

Jerry: What's happening to our hood?

Movie Connections:

References The Ice Harvest (2005)

Soundtrack:

A Comer Chicharron

An Excellent Tribute To The Video Cassette Generation and Film-making

'Be Kind Rewind' has already become one of my favourite films of the year. It's funny. It's charming. It's nostalgic. It's awkward. It's unique and it's moving. The entrance of DVDs to our lives have lead to the rapid extinction of video cassettes but does one remember the days of renting, collecting and watching those big tapes? Rewinding them and forwarding them? Something small but one that I find fascinating. While 'Be Kind Rewind' pays respect to that generation, it's also a wonderful tribute to film-making in general. All the classic movies and blockbusters this film refers to are some of the most memorable movies that played during the VHS days and, in a way, 'Be Kind Rewind' is a superb homage to those films. Just watch all the sweded 'refilming' of, for example, 'Driving Miss Daisy' with Danny Glover and Mia Farrow, 'Ghostbusters' and 'Rush Hour 2' with Jack Black and Mos Def...and so many more hilarious surprises. 'Be Kind Rewind' also explores what it is about cinema that fascinate the ordinary man.

Gondry's writing is just as great as his direction. Everything fits together excellently. The comedy and drama blend smoothly. Michel Gondry's screenplay is impeccable. The dialogues are laugh out loud and never out of place. The characters are genuinely heartwarming, goofy and lovable.

The performances are heartfelt and fantastic. A wacky Jack Black, an endearing Mia Farrow (who's a science fiction fan), a very impressive Mos Def (I was very impressed by his comic timing), a humbly naive Danny Glover, a vivacious Melonie Diaz, Sigourney Weaver as an inspector in charge (with a touch of comedy) and many more talented actors make a terrific ensemble.

Gondry has tackled a lot of themes like a strong sense of community, people's love for movies, people being accustomed to old technology (as a result to which they sometimes have difficulty moving on to more updated sources), reviving loved artists who have vanished into oblivion and the overall sense of doing something great together (like the last movie on Fat Waller's life). He tells the story skillfully. I liked that it ended on a bittersweet note but somewhat ambiguously. I was having so much fun and laughing out loud so many times that I didn't even care if it bothered other people.

Many people seem to have trashed this movie because it wasn't like 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind'. I'd like to tell those people to get over it. How can people even begin to compare too totally different films and then call one of them trash for not being like the other? I love both movies and to me, with 'Be Kind Rewind' Gondry proves to be a versatile director and my appreciation for him as a filmmaker has only increased.