Sundance Preview: Be Kind Rewind

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 17, 2008

Be Kind Rewind already, but since it will be making its premiere here at Sundance, I didn’t think that you would mind me talking about it some more. Directed by visionary filmmaker Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), it stars Jack Black and Mos Def as two video store clerks who inadvertently erase all of the video tapes in their store. And instead of buying new tapes, they decide to do it YouTube style and remake all of the films on their own. It is a method that has grown into a pop culture phenomenon known as “Sweding”.

The film looks absolutely hilarious, there is no doubt about that. But it also carries that unique sense of quirkiness that we’ve seen from Michel Gondry in the past. Gondry’s most recent film, The Science of Sleep, was one of the most outrageous and fresh films of 2006, leading me to believe that we will see much of the same — coupled with a wider appeal thanks to casting and marketing — that should put Be Kind Rewind and the oddity that is Gondry in front of more people than ever before.

Take a look at two production stills from the film, followed by the trailer.

Be Kind Rewind makes its premiere here at Sundance on Sunday January 20. Expect a review shortly after that.

Keep it locked to our 2008 Sundance Film Festival Homepage all week as I will bring you up-to-date reviews, news and features from Park City, Utah.

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