Be Kind Rewind yo!

Be Kind Rewind

What if, right, artistic accomplishments were distilled down to their base elements, and then reconcocted? Sure, this happens regularly in music and theatre, maybe, with varying degrees of success/disaster, but can this also be applied to, say, film? The slew of cack Asian cinema remakes currently polluting our screens renders this question timely at least. And if so, who owns it, the new product that is? Can the original creators even claim “ownership” once it is in the greedy grasp of the public at large?


Well, these are a few of the boggling questions posed by in the fifth feature of the genial Michel Gondry, Be Kind Rewind. At turns soulful, touching and cackle-inducing, rawkus Jack Black (still here playing, as he will only ever do, Jack Black) and the straight-faced Mos Def cob together to save their shambolic Brooklyn video store in the face of evil capitalistic property developers and gobbledegook speaking local government officials. They do this, not by holding a fancy dress charity fun run, or even a car boot sale, but instead by producing “sweded” versions of the shop’s filmic catalogue. (Black’s character has conspired with himself to (in)conveniently wipe the entire collection of videos by magnetising himself. Naturellement).


This conceit is an indication of the wild invention which defines this film. Our protagonists resort to increasingly resourceful methods and props to create these “swedes” (“from far away…Sweden!”) of which Robocop, Rush Hour 2 and the Lion King are just a few. Gondry, clearly, possesses an childlike glee for the film, in all its mutant forms and chooses his content here admirably without prejudice.


The advent of digital technology is touched upon, and really the only gripe you can have with the film is that it explores its themes a little too lightly, never really daring to really plunge in. Is it not too sure of its conviction? Otherwise this utterly charming film is as refreshing as a fresh lemonade on a balmy late summer afternoon.