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Cannes Review: Quentin Dupieux's Wacky Tire Movie Rubber

by Alex Billington
May 16, 2010

One of the most buzzed about films in this year's Semaine de la Critique (Critic's Week) is French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux's wacky new film Rubber about an angry sentient tire that explodes peoples' heads using psycho-kinetic powers. The film is self-defined (directly in the beginning) as an homage to "no reason" in film - as in, the idea that things happen "for no reason" in many films. And, for no reason, Dupieux decided to make a film about a tire that's alive. Alas, there's only so much anyone can do with this concept, and it doesn't have enough to last a full film, so he uses some other tricks to keep it running for a full 85 minutes.

Rubber is one of those bad-but-good films that deserves to be in a Grindhouse line-up from the 70's. Not only does it have a story about a killer tire, but Dupieux plays with the audience in crazy ways. He actually introduces a live "audience" in the film that is watching the "film" about a tire. They make observations and watch everything unfold through binoculars as if they were idiot audience members watching this film play out, but he spends so much time with them (an even mix of both stories) that I started to get bored with the whole film about half way through. I mean, how much can you do with a killer tire and a small budget in the middle of the California desert? The tire, called Robert, doesn't talk, kills some people, and that's about it.

I don't want to say this film was a complete waste because when or where will we see a story about an angry, sentient tire ever again, and if that concept alone interests you, than it's worth checking out. But it's just so wacky, so frickin' weird from start to finish, with the odd audience-in-the-film secondary story and the tire's love affair with a beautiful girl, that it's just hard to actually love it. At one point halfway through, after they try to poison and kill off the audience, a police officer just says to stop acting and go home because it's over, but since it is real, the story resumes. Good or bad, pointless or not, it was at least a very unique experience.

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Related categories: Cannes Film Festival 10, Reviews

Joshua m

When are we ever going to see another movie about an angry, sentient tire ever again? Knowing Hollywood, I'd say we can expect an American remake in a year or two. Or maybe an rebooting.
Nada Nuff

Uhhh, OK.....sounds like something you'd watch on TV on a bored Saturday afternoon.
DoomCanoe

#2 ...... why the hell would you waste your Saturday afternoon watching this? On Saturdays you need to be out hitting tires with sludge hammers or rolling them down a hill at pedestrians not sitting on your couch watching them. come on this is like a 7 o'clock Wednesday type of movie
http://www.cine-escape.com Sakyo

want to see it Alex anyway... ..thank you for the review..but i want to see it for myself.. i am very curious about tis one..
Jasdeep Grewal

****When are we ever going to see another movie about an angry, sentient tire ever again? Knowing Hollywood, I'd say we can expect an American remake in a year or two. Or maybe an rebooting. **** But with a monster truck tire...Americans know how to do it bigger and badder(Michael Bay will be attached to direct)
Megacity

****When are we ever going to see another movie about an angry, sentient tire ever again? Knowing Hollywood, I'd say we can expect an American remake in a year or two. Or maybe an rebooting. **** Or maybe a re-tread?
Nada Nuff

@ Doom Canoe: At 7:00 on Wednesdays I definitely have better things to do. On Saturday afternoons I'm bored outta my gourd.
Bob Dylan

Another movie about angry tires with telekinetic powers? How many of these do we have to see? The horse is dead. Leave it alone.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

@6 "rim"shot
beavis

let me get this straight? - "first showing" will make space for this crap?
Zippetty

HAHAHAHA This movie sounds like a great one to pop in after watching Dead Alive and smoke a great big blunt!
DoomCanoe

@Nada Nuff well lets go burn some rubber brother.
http://ilictronix.com Boba

I made it through Daft Punk's Electroma and mostly enjoyed it. I don't think sitting through this could really be all that bad.
http://www.myspace.com/realtimenoise Bobby

@Boba Yeah, wtf. i wanna see the SHIT out of this! i-ah-be curious despite the constructive criticism lacking/negative nelly review. If you've seen any of Depiuex's shorts and Whatnot he's got a unique, calm, but basic and powerful perspective of the twisted world we live in. IMHO lol I hereby review this review and any others' following as horrible and should be subject to severe revision. If its as tripped out and funked out'n awesome as his music than Sweet. ha MR.OIZOOO!
Teej

This review made me wanna see this movie so bad.
bloke

i just saw the movie at the fantasy filmfest in cologne. it is a very very weak and boring movie. after three minutes, the funnieness fades out rapidly and all "splatter"-scenes are not really splatter. the music is excellent. the acting is excellent, too. but still, the film is so f****ing boring, it made me wanna puke.
Ross

does anyone know when or where i'll be able to see this film? I've seen trailers for it that made it look amazing and the sound track seems to be awesome.
No

Opens April 1st, 2011...hmmm
cerambam

for the record this movie is awesome its a great satire that a ton of critics relate to monty python-esq comedy if you actually enjoy movies and can see them for what they are then you gotta watch it hilarious from start to finish... little tire.. big dreams.
http://www.facebook.com/Delcimetro Sérgio Barbosa

I think u fail to see beyond the tire (like all the audience of the movie was seeing it). It is a direct critic to "Hollywood-style" movies, were everything is so define that, for instance doesn't even matter if the killer is a Guy, or a tire, or a doll or any other thing. Or the fact that the most of the audience "eats" everything that its thrown at them (any crappy mainstream movie) - if u wait u get "gormet". Or even, when the wheelchair guy dies, the fact that the spectators should be involved in the movie (space of reflexion) and not just passive bodies (like all the other dumb -dead- audience)... and much more... its a general critic for or the mainstream movies. I don't think its a coincidence that "robert" all his friends arrive to Hollywood in the end. Nor i think that when "robert" arrives is a pure no reason that he goes back a bit: "i shall not "go" Hollywood. OR... its is just "no reason"... but either way, for sure, its not for "normalized hollywood minds"
JP

Wow, some of you put a ton of thought into a completely idiotic movie. Now that's satire! Sa-tire, get it!
Anonymous

Hi, its really very nice i have seen trailers for it that made it look amazing and the sound track also seems very awesome. thanks. Mass Profit Formula
Bob

I haven't seen the movie but I think i'm going to like it. But,I might hate it. If no on reads this,am I then,not a critic? chew on that!