Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Be Kind Rewind



Be Kind Rewind is a completely original movie about making unoriginal art and the community that art creates. One alone could conceive of this movie and direct it - Michel Gondry. His visual inventiveness has come through in both Science of Sleep and now Be Kind Rewind. But he also brings together a cast performance led by Jack Black and Mos Def that is inside its own world, has its own tone, and seems both organic and spontaneous. The film is a living breath of new life. And while the story itself is slight in scope, Be Kind Rewind has big heart and big laughs that are earnestly asked for and received. The story allows Gondry to show off his trademark visual flair, and it begs the question if one can exist without the other. However, it becomes clear that Gondry and his cast believe in its themes and style to the point where the audience needs to surrender its driver's seat and let Gondry take the wheel. He knows where he's going and what he's doing.

****1/2

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