Be Kind Rewind

A peculiar comedy, which starts surprisingly slowly, but hilariously transitions into the crazy genre with a magnetized eccentric, and concludes everything with an original variation on Bio Paradise. I will never see such a combination in my life again, but praises are definitely deserved for The Parent Trap, RoboCop, or Carrie. The film doesn't hold together at all, but it doesn't spare smiles or nostalgia. (21/10/2008)

A self-impressive Gondry spasm, mentally at the level of a high school party, but shows off as a praise of love for film and community creativity. At the same time, it is so brutally forced and pandering that even those few solid moments are drowning in a sea of poses and awkwardly staged allotrias. This "ostentatious intellectual child" side of Gondry irritates me. (24/06/2013)

After this movie ended I felt like asking the projectionist if he could rewind it and play it again, but even without that I was basically pleased with the most normal Gondry yet. Maybe it isn’t perfect and flawless, but what really original picture ever is? I don’t pretend that I haven’t had an almost uncritical soft spot for this visionary since his beginnings with video clips. For one thing, you won’t find such a fount of ideas, originality and idiosyncrasy in any other filmmaker. But primarily I rate him for his talent at creating believable dream-reality. In my eyes this is the hardest discipline of all. And while a couple of writers are talented at this, apart from Michel Gondry himself, I think the only filmmaker with the same talent that occurs to me is Tsukamoto. But ouch, no such dream sequences come into this movie. That said, we find heaps of originality here. But in spite of that, after the magnificent intro, the greatest “attraction", i.e. the Sweded movies themselves, are a little creaky. This is the worst part of the movie. It doesn’t hold together, although some wonderful moments are to be found (mainly the short ones like The Lion King and Carrie). Paradoxically it starts working when they stop filming the “remakes" and their own creations start to come out on top. But I’m certainly not disappointed. Maybe also because, unlike many others, I didn’t expect a comedy in the true sense of the word. Not because Gondry couldn’t manage to pull something like that off, but for the simple reason that he didn’t promise anything of the sort. Not even the trailers contained any promise of a bundle of fun (btw, the Sweded trailer with Gondry himself is pure genius and is the most original trailer I have ever seen). And casting Jack Black doesn’t necessarily mean a comedy to make your sides split. So, to sum up: Please Gondry, keep being yourself, whatever the cost. (15/07/2008)

The idea is incredibly simple, yet almost genius. Jack Black plays a weirdo who, after getting a strong electric shock, accidentally erases all the movies in his friend's video rental store. However, the customers still want to watch movies. So, the duo comes up with the idea to re-film them, but with themselves playing all the characters and adjusting the plot to their own liking. The unbelievable becomes real, and the rental store is more successful than ever before. But of course, it's not just a simple trick. The humor is quite pleasant and delightful, nothing vulgar, which is something one is used to with Black. In the main role, it's mostly Mos Def, and Black is essentially his partner. Mos Def once again shows that he is a great actor and definitely did not make a mistake by adding acting to his rap career. His role in the last season of the TV series "Dexter" fully proves that. "Be Kind Rewind" is not a big film, it doesn't try to be a big film, even though it deals with some more significant issues. It is a film for people, enthusiasts, and movie lovers. It belongs to all of us, and we should enjoy it. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/07/prosime-pretocte-fimfarum-1-2-zivot.html (21/02/2013)

It's a pity about the sometimes clumsy and heavy-handed humour, because otherwise this fourth film confirms Michel Gondry as a filmmaker whose inventiveness, combined with a kind of childlike playfulness, is unparalleled in the contemporary film world. It’s not a film for everyone, just as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or The Science of Sleep, because their unusual way of telling the story probably will frustrate many viewers, but if you accept and then love their poetics, Michel Gondry has won with you. And what's more, you can't help but love the films of a filmmaker who can solve a Rubik's cube with his feet and proudly present it on the internet :) (19/06/2008)