Surrealism has come a long way, slipping into the obscure, hiding in the form of third class horror films in the lower cases on the shelves of rentals, residing on hardly frequented websites as fainted VHS copies or occasionally making an appearance as a supporting genre in films by arthouse directors such as David Lynch. There hasn't been a mainstream film that could be attributed a work of a surrealist in decades. Maybe there's never really been one to begin with... up until now.
Up until Quentin Dupieux, aka. Mr. Oizo, took up directing and made RUBBER. A film about a tire who can kill due to his... powers. And falls in love with a girl. And is chased by the police.
To tell you anything else about the plot would be to spoil the movie and the experience of watching it. If you intend to watch RUBBER, then do so with an open mind and without a clue what it is about, apart from including a killer tire as the protagonist. Because, most of all, RUBBER is a film about filmmaking. A film about nonsense, a film about the poetry of sheer silliness and about the surreal. A film about clichés, both of films and of life.
RUBBER could also have been labeled UN CHIEN ANDALOU 2. To be honest, if it would have been, it would have only improved its grandeur, because most of all, the film does introduce us Quentin Dupieux as one of the greatest artists of our age, placing him next to Artaud or Bunuel.
So if you watch RUBBER, do so in a cinema - the visuals are stunning. Take some friends and alcohol along, and prepare to laugh a lot!!! As the closer of this years Fantasy Filmfest, RUBBER allowed its audience to gaze one last time at the grandeur that is filmmaking aside the norm, aside of such boring productions like "The Sorcerers Apprentice" or "The Forgotten". Aside of everything logic and sane.
And thus, I leave the filmfest with one big question in my mind - to quote the film I have just seen:
"Why does the guy from Roman Polanski's THE PIANIST have to hide and live like a bum if he can play the piano so well?"
You think you know the answer? Oh, you have no clue...
Rating - 9.5/10
Great review, but knocking on blockbusters when you're reviewing an arthouse film is blasé as hell.
ReplyDeleteBesides Taken, in its own right, is a tremendous action/thriller, comparing it to a film like The Sorcerer's Apprentice is doing it grave injustice. Even though to be honest I somewhat enjoyed TSA.
Ha, I actually didn't mean the recent TAKEN, but the absolutely terrible THE FORGOTTEN!! Thanks for that, wouldn't have noticed without your comment. :D
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