Michel Gondry's Childlike Charm
Article by Aaron Haughton
Always capable of making the quotidian majestic and fantastical, Michel Gondry may very well be one of the most innovative and inspiring filmmakers working today. There is a multitude of evidence with regard to his awe-inspiring, childlike views of the world, which can be seen from his extensive music video oeuvre to his feature-length filmography.
His style is so fresh and unique that he quickly became distinctly identifiable; however, it was with his late film Be Kind Rewind (which is not the best example of his fresh capabilities) that he inspired fans to a whole other degree and level.
The notion of the "sweded" film (or film that is remade by an amateur in a cheap, although [generally] intriguing way) really captivated the spirits of film fanatics. I mean, who doesn't want to recreate or live out their favorite films? I would certainly like to take a stab at Buffalo '66 or Gummo, or some other favorite (there are too many) film of mine.
In addition to the sweded snippets Gondry included in his film Be Kind Rewind, he's also sweded his version of Scorsese's classic Taxi Driver:
This sweded sensation has led to several different iterations of fan favorites. A quick YouTube search will merit a long list, but we've taken the liberty of sifting through the shit to give you some of our favorites.
The fan filmmakers here clearly poured a lot into this shot-by-shot reimagining of the Force Awakens trailer. This is the height of sweded films, and does well to show how enchanting the fan take can be. Honestly, I'd pay 12 bucks to see the sweded version of this film than waste time on the original iteration.
This take on Jurassic Park captures all the majesty without the big budget. They even found a way to tackle the T-rex eating man on the toilet scene, which is impressive. Very funny. Nice work, chaps!
This is one that is sure to have you laughing. The guy playing Nicholson's part slays and the woman playing Wendy does a pretty convincing Shelley Duvall with the bat. The elevator scene is also handled in gloriously humorous fashion.
Verruca Salt's demise and Augustus' chocolate incident are handled marvelously. Although, I would like to know what the hell they put in that bath tub, and if they actually drank it. Hopefully, not...
The increasing amount of foil used on the T1000 is a nice touch.
There's nothing particularly great about this one, but the cast seems to be comprised of only homeless people, which kinda feels like Harmony Korine putting together his version of Forest Gump. The unpredictability of the vagrant cast and their retelling of the Gump plot is sure to having you laughing.
Welp, those are some of favorites (that haven't been pulled from the interwebs). Are there any good ones we missed? What film would you like to see sweded? Let us know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and remember:
