Be Kind Rewind

Director: Michel Gondry
Screenwriters: Michel Gondry

Institute History

  • 2008 Sundance Film Festival

Description

The fertile and irrepressible imagination of Michel Gondry is again on display in this wildly original comedy, Be Kind Rewind, a film whose simplicity of vision, inventiveness, and charm reminds us of why we first fell in love with film. It’s a journey that begins in a New Jersey video store, a place that already seems nearly obsolete.

When Jerry (Jack Black) accidentally erases all the tapes in the store because he has become magnetized (just stay with me on this…), he and his best friend Mike (Mos Def) decide to remake the lost movies to keep alive the ailing business of their temporarily absent boss, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). And when their peculiarly inspired versions of Hollywood classics become a surprise hit with their neighborhood clientele, they are soon in full-scale production, remaking everything from Ghostbusters to King Kong. This, of course, cannot be permitted by the powers that be, so the friends and their now-returned employer face losing the store unless they can come up with a plan.

Whether it’s , The Science of Sleep, or Be Kind Rewind, Gondry, along with a remarkable artistic team, operates in a creative sphere that sets him apart. His ability to touch, stimulate, and entertain us is rare, really exceptional, and the mark of a filmmaker who clearly loves his craft.

— Geoffrey Gilmore

Screening Details

Credits

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