Sweetness and Community inBe Kind Rewind

I'm convinced studios have no clue what to do with Michel Gondry movies, which is why they always seem to come out in the dead time of February or March. Even his latest, Be Kind Rewind, which boasts a fairly linear plot and some reasonably major stars seems to have everyone (studios and critics and the confused boys sitting behind us at the theater) baffled. That is, if you try and think to hard about it. Sure, Gondry played a good deal with dream, reality and memory (even delving into mild science fiction) with Eternal Sunshine and The Science of Sleep, but he also has a simple, yet playful sentimental side to him as well. Gondry named his personal documentary I've Been 12 Forever, a fitting name for a man who thinks like a big kid with a huge imagination. There's also been a sweetness to Gondry's work that's been missing from that of his MTV-to-indie film contemporaries, including Spike Jonze, Jonathan Glazer and Chris Cunningham.

When he shot Dave Chappelle's Block Party in 2004 (released two years later), Gondry took a step back from the dreamworld, instead honing in on themes of community and forgotten history. While Rewind contains some of the expected Gondry quirks, it is those themes from the documentary that play so strongly in his latest creation.

The film is set in the not too distant past - the world is transitioning from VHS to DVD, and a small town rental shop is struggling to make ends meet. Mos Def is left in charge of the shop by his boss (a heartfelt performance from Danny Glover), only to have all the tapes erased by his suddenly-magnetized friend, Jack Black (how that happens is one of those classic Gondry quirks). To compensate for the loss, the two attempt to recreate requested films, such as Ghostbusters and Rush Hour 2. Their production is shoddy, and performances overly ridiculous, but something funny happens - the people of the town come to prefer their versions, and soon a following is built. Ultimately, the harsh realities of the world start to set in, but at the same time this downtrodden community is able to rally around something, and the ending reveals that same sweetness Gondry displayed in Block Party.

If you've seen the film, and would like to indulge in its world a bit more, check out the highly inventive website.

Be Kind Rewind Trailer


Rush Hour 2 Trailer


Ghostbusters Trailer

New Michel Gondry Film, Commercial

Speculation is that Michel Gondry's latest film will be his most accessible to date. But don't think that will make the Jack Black-lead Be Kind Rewind ordinary. In the film, Black makes the mistake of erasing all VHS films at a store where his friend (Mos Def) has been put in charge of while the boss (Danny Glover) is away. How do they plan to solve this problem - well by taping their reenactments of each film of course. The self-deprecating auteur tells MTV, "If this movie is not trashed by people, I will start to feel confident."

On the subject of one of my favorite directors, Gondry has directed a new commercial for Motorola, which is as inventive and imaginative as anything we've seen from him before.

I have to give credit to Kanye West for posting this on his blog. Thanks, Ye.

And while were at it, why not celebrate a few of my favorite Gondry videos...

"Star Guitar," Chemical Brothers


"The Denial Twist," the White Stripes


"Walkie Talkie Man," Steriogram