With MM, on a random afternoon in London.

Not since Tim Burton’s Ed Wood have I seen such a wonderful depiction of the joy of filmmaking. It’s worth watching just for the daffy recreations of, e.g., Rush Hour 2 and Ghostbusters, but focusing solely on those would be a crying shame.

It’s when the film shifts gears into a story of a neighborhood pulling together to make up a load of bull and make it into a funky, retro-fied, low budget masterpiece of a film that it REALLY gets good. And moving. And sweet.

Here’s hoping it inspires a whole new generation of “Sweders.” Or at least guys who aren’t afraid to make crap just for the love of it.

Our past belongs to us, we can change it if we like.

Michel Gondry brings his distinctive sensibilities to Be Kind Rewind and creates a film that is about a community and people who love movies. With distinctive and somewhat naive characters who almost could have walked out of a film by Frank Capra, it has a sentimental feeling while not being overly sweet. While the promotion of the film seems to be setting it up as a Jack Black comedy, it’s a surprisingly sophisticated look at how we relate to each other through the movies that we love and our own history. I loved the film for the strange point of view and infectious optimism and how it reminds us that a film only exists with an audience.

Sneak preview with a Q and A with Michel Gondry after. Amazing.