In many ways, people have ‘Sweded‘ movies for years on YouTube. Whether it was those kids who did a shot by shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Gus Van Sant remaking Psycho, or kids in the backyard playing, the idea of Sweding has been around a lot longer than the advent of YouTube. But thanks to Michel Gondry’s latest film Be Kind Rewind, it now has a name.
In the film, Jack Black accidentally erases an entire video store’s VHS tapes (due to a strange electromagnetic charge) and then goes about remaking these classic and not-so-classic movies with Mos Def. Their videos certainly take on that DIY style that Gondry is known for, but also is a nod to the countless homemade videos posted to the internet every day.
The popularity with Sweding, a term coined in the movie by the characters who tell their customers the movies higher prices and longer wait times is because they come from Sweden, is in the childlike imagination. There is no CGI or special effects to speak of, but rather a rough collage of sets and costumes made from everyday, handcrafted and household items.
This inventive, almost problem solving mentality to film making, (that is, how the characters come up with countless ways to pull off Hollywood-style movies with a retro VHS camera and some cardboard) is endearing and inspiring. It makes you want to pick up a camera with some friends and make a movie yourself.
Watch Gondry’s Sweded version of the trailer:
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Predictably the film has inspired many to put on their aluminum foil creative helmets and film Sweded adaptations of their own. Most are posted on the Be Kind YouTube channel, but you can check out this one here:
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To see some amazing trailers for the Sweded videos from the film itself go to bekindmovie.com/youtube.
I saw this on sunday.. pretty awesome. I loved the ghostbusters plasma guns and how they used fishing poles and christmas ribbon to simulate.