Why Haven’t You Seen It: Rubber

There are two kinds of people on this Earth. The people who hate the movie Rubber, and the people who love it. I am obviously from the second category, but will warn you right now. This is, without a doubt, the “quirkiest” movie I have recommended yet. Also, probably the most polarizing. People will pull me aside and thank them for introducing them to this movie. Many people have in the last year.

The other school of thought will be: Did he really just recommend a movie to us about a tire that kills people with its mind? Those people will probably want to rub sticks in dog poo and then try to brush the sticks on me. That’s okay, though. I will gladly risk a run in with a poo stick if it helps bring this fun and fudged up movie to the masses. Might not be the most surreal movie ever made, but it is definitely one of them.

I consider Rubber to be art house meets mad house, in the best way possible.

So honestly, there is little I need to say about this movie that I have not already given away in that intro. Rubber is, LITERALLY, about a sentient tire that has evil, Jedi abilities. The problem is, this is where it gains or loses people, right away. There are just some people who cannot allow themselves to have fun with such an out-there idea. Understand something, this film is NOT for those kinds of people. This film wants nothing to do with those kinds of people. Rubber is more an experience for people who understand that film is allowed to get as surreal as wacky as it wants to get, and if you need strict code of rules to follow when it comes to film, go see something else. This is about an evil psychic tire. That’s it. It’s okay if that either pulls you in or pushes you away, right away. I have seen some pretty insane shit in my life, so a psychic, human-hating tire is not that out there for me. I say you give it a chance.

Here, peep the trailer.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWWufhqyGE8

Some tires are just born evil.

So the reason the tire wants to kill people is, well, um, they never tell us. But the reason it’s sentient is actually, well, they never tell us.

I think it’s that specific  ambiguity that works so well in this film. Rubber knows what it wants to do. It wants to make a nonsensical, fourth wall breaking surreal-horror-romp about a killer tire. It wants us to crane our necks like dogs hearing a new noise for the first time while we watch it. It wants us to look over at our friends and exclaim WTF atleast once every five minutes. This is what Rubber wants. This is what Rubber takes joy from. If you look for the sense in this film, you will only walk away even more befuddled. What you need to do when you watch Rubber is detach that part of your brain that floods you with reason, and instead, focus on the part of your brain that floods you with entertainment. That, in a word, is exactly what Rubber is. Entertaining. Also, piss your pants insane. That, too.

The tire kind of gets feelings for this girl. Yup, I just said that.

There is a really interesting aspect to Rubber I have not brought up yet. I have not brought it up because I am not quite sure how to explain it.

When you watch Rubber, you are not the only one watching Rubber. There are people WITHIN the movie that also watch the movie with you. Granted, they are parked in the desert, watching these ACTUAL things unfold through binoculars  But I  will tell you now, it is one of the most insane things I have ever seen in a movie. While you are watching the movie, so are they. The best part is, they add their thoughts on certain things, and how certain things should unfold, and without saying too much, may actually get involved with the action on some level by the end of the film. It makes Rubber seem like a movie WITHIN that is turning within another movie (and no, I won’t say MOVIECEPTION) and it makes the film go that extra mile to really drive itself and its ideals home. There were THREE tire puns in those last few sentences. That is just how meta I AM.

So they watch the same movie you do, only in a very different way.

I also feel the need to point out how utterly brilliant it is that this is a movie about a tire that kills you WITH ITS MIND. For the tire to be sentient and run people over or cause accidents would be one thing, but to go so far as to have the tire blow up people’s heads, Scanners style? Again, very meta, very gory, and very funny. It is those exact elements that caused me to like Rubber so much. As simple as the film may appear in concept or idea, it truly is miles deeper than that, and only the people who give it the proper attention will get that. Also, I know I have said this before one other time on this site when talking about this film in passing, but the intro scene when the tire is trying to learn to “walk” is one of my favorite scenes ever. Hilarious, brilliant, and perfectly executed.

Oh, and that intro. My god, I loved that intro.

You will know by the end of this intro if you will either love or hate the movie.

The director of Rubber, Quentin Dupieux is a French electronic musician who is as interesting and quirky as his films. Though I have yet to see Wrong Cops, which I believe to be his third movie, I loved Wrong (about a missing dog, kind of), and it is streaming on Netflix in the U.S right now if you want to check it out. But I wholly recommend you check out Rubber first. It is a strange, absorbing little journey with an evil tire who, inexplicably, will grow on you by the end of the movie. Yes, not only do I think you will like this movie if you give it a chance, I also think you will grow to care about the tire.

Man, I need therapy I think.

Also, go check out my site guys. Only 50,000 views away from two million readers in a year and a half. Not too shabby for a narcissistic nobody.