Be Kind + Muppet Babies
I was trying to think of a cutesy way to say how much I liked Michel Gondry’s New film Be Kind Rewind, but I have to just start by saying I just plain enjoyed it. The movie was funny, it had heart, it made you feel sentimental without feeling overly cheesy. The feeling I got from watching it was similar to watching films as a kid. The whimsical nature of the film hooked you in, said don’t take things so seriously and entertained and moved you all at once.
My friends and I all joked, half seriously, about going home, grabbing a camera and making our own “sweded” films. Therein lies the genius. As Gondry stated about the exhibit at Dietch Projects (which allows people to create their own films and have them displayed in the exhibition) “I intend to prove that people can enjoy their time without being part of the commercial system and serving it. Ultimately, I am hoping to create a network of creativity and communication that is guaranteed to be free and independent from any commercial institution.”
It reminded me a lot of watching Muppet Babies as a child. Something in the fact that it stimulated our imaginations and encouraged us to find inventive ways of playing. We’d watch the Star Wars episode and suddenly we’d be using the couch pillows as the starboard of our space ship and with pots on our heads we’d launch our own exploration into the great imaginary unknown.
Big ups to everyone out there grabbing their cameras and playing like they’re five again.
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