Rubber (Quentin Dupieux, 2010): USA

Reviewed by Samuel Gonzalez. Viewed at the AFI Film Festival, Hollywood.

Rubber, a short film written and directed by Quentin Dupieux is both funny and weird to say the least. This film is about a “killer tire”, it’s basically your typical tire that developes the telekinetic ability to kill pretty much anything living. It’s the mere concept that an oridinary rubber tire can be a killer that is found humorous well throughout the film. Not only that, but alongside the tire’s killing rath you have a completely different story unfolding in which about a dozen individuals are gathered in the middle of the dessert which is where this film takes place, in a deserted town literally in the middle of nowhere. They are basically characters in the story who were somehow selected to be the “audience” within the movie who witness the tire throught it’s path and killings.

Starting midpoint and through the ending of the film the overall story begins to unfold and the plot begins to fall into place in the sense that as the general audience you finally begin to understand what is taking place in the actual film being that it is not very well explained at the beginning. The story is full of twist and turns, hilarious and odd which is what engages the audience’s continued interest.

Writter and Director Quentin Dupieux did a fabulous job on his film Rubber, it’s simply a comical film that anyone can easily enjoy.