Rubber (2010)

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

What can really be said about Rubber? Those calling this film ironically good, so bad it's good, or a B-movie, are completely mistaken. While very different films, Rubber is to the 2010's what Monty Python and the Holy Grail is to the 1970's. Part of the humor is found within Rubber is through self-aware meta jokes designed to troll the audience while making both subtle and obvious commentary on both cinema and the audience -- that is both the average moviegoers and those who criticize them, both appealing and criticizing the sensibilities of western society in the 21st century.Despite being a film that has a sentient killer tire as its protagonist, the tire is simultaneously irrelevant and relevant to the film's themes and focus, as it plays into the flawed concept established in the beginning monologue about "no reason." Rather than the tire being the most important character, it is the spectators and the Sheriff orchestrating the "movie." These sequences criticize the way a film is constructed and then how it is perceived by different people, all of which seem to have their own view of how a film should play out, despite for the most part subscribing to group think and guzzling whatever is before them; there is a scene where they all gobble up a poisoned turkey symbolic of audiences eating up whatever they see so long as they are mildly amused.The man with the glasses and tie surely represents the business side of the film industry, the side that will make any type of film so long as it turns a profit and appeals to the shallow general public; there is a scene where he even literally steals money from them as they are sleeping. The opening monologue is extremely flawed which plays into the subtext of the film; to emphasize his philosophy, the sheriff brings up the worst examples to validate his points, for example, he indirectly states a Jewish pianist has no reason to hide as a bum while his city is occupied by Nazis like in The Pianist, there is no reason behind it. Perhaps this monologue represents people applying their own close-minded philosophy to art, rejecting the author's intentions, and making up fallacy driven arguments.The wrap it up on the social commentary the film even ends with a direct statement against Hollywood as if they are to blame for films today. Despite the subtext, the film works quite well on its own, an absurdist and surreal story of spectators watching a film within a film play out from afar. But is any of this good? Yes, and largely it is due to its humor, which will vary depending on who you are.

The most stupid movie of the world! "As film spectators watch, a killer car tire comes to life in a desert dump site". What are you talking about? What kind of Car Tire? Some people living together for 4 or 5 years and they can't give birth even to a child. So, why director brought to life a rubber? It would better to bring a life the whole car. By the way I saw such movie where the car is killing people. This was million times better then Rubber. The screenplay is awful. I don't know why the actors agreed to play in this film. By watching it you can understand that this movie is for nothing. Just the production company Realitism couldn't make the movie similar to its name "Realitism". Elle Driver, arte France Cinéma spent all 500$ thousand dollars in vain. "In Flexing its... rubber... and ready to roll, it soon discovers its telekinetic ability to make small animals and people's heads explode". What? Are you kidding? What the "TELEKINETIC"? The stupid way of killing. The negative words have grown up in my mind after watching this "Thing", I cannot call this "Movie".

A perfectly good idea ruined by over-explanation and "look how clever we are" winks. Good jokes don't give the punchline away before the setup, great art doesn't demand you read a thesis to walk you through it. The introduction and frame story here did nothing but detract from the perfectly acceptable conceptual element of this film. It feels like a "Mulholland Drive" or "Lost Highway" if David Lynch had filmed an additional 45 minutes of footage to both pad out an inconsistent idea as well as spoon-feed his audience the point he was making. If the point is "just because", SHOW it. Don't tell us straight out. Let us see/experience it through the visuals and story. Take the idea and run with it, don't falter and just blurt it out. What's the point in watching the rest? Overall: a terrible failure that could have been something great.

An unusual story of a rubber tyre that uses telekinetic powers to kill. The movie is based around the notion of things being meaningless. Why would a tyre have consciousness? No reason. Why would it kill? No reason. It is absurdist horror at it's best. The story itself is almost irrelevant, what makes the movie is the score (wonderfully provided by mr oizo) and the camera work. It is shot so beautifully that you will forget how ridiculous the premise of the movie is. Alternatively if you're not into hidden meanings and what not, rubber still serves as a deliciously odd screwball b-movie. Surely not a film for everybody and perhaps not one I would often re-watch... but one you should most definitely take the time to see.