Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Rubber Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 12, 2011

Screened at last year's edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Gallic director Quentin Dupieux's "Rubber" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; teaser test; and a collection of short interviews with director Quentin Dupieux and actors Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, and Roxane Mesquida. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Just another target

In 2008, the now defunct North American distributors, New Yorker Video, released a wonderful collection of short films titled The World According to Shorts. The films in the collection are: La Perra by Hugo Maza, We Have Decided Not to Die by Daniel Askill, United We Stand by Hans Petter Moland, Antichrist by Adam Guzinski, The Old Woman’s Step by Jane Malaquias, and Ring of Fire by Andreas Hykade. Each of these short films is brilliant, perfectly scripted and exceptionally well acted. I often recommend them to friends who want to see something different, something truly original.

French electronica musician-turned-director Quentin Dupieux’s latest film, Rubber, would have fit perfectly into The World According to Shorts - if it was a short film. The idea behind it is great, and despite the over-the-top killings, which give the film a distinctively kitschy look, the acting isn’t bad either.

But instead of building around the idea and producing some meaningful observations, like all of the short films in The World According to Shorts do - and believe me, once you see Rubber you would agree that the film could have been a powerful piece of satire - director Dupieux has simply indulged in style over substance. Naturally, after the initial 15-20 minutes, Rubber quickly evolves into a massive fest of clichés that is very difficult to endure.

Here’s the plot: A crowd of odd moviegoers is transported deep into the California desert for a very special show - watching a psychedelic tire named Robert killing birds, animals and various clueless men and women. After the show starts, a group of mentally challenged cops appear and begin asking redundant questions. A few of them die. The film climaxes when the tire falls in love with a beautiful girl (Roxane Mesquida), who is heading home to Los Angeles.

For awhile the idea to have a film within a film and ridicule modern audiences and their obsession with violence and sex works well, but eventually director Dupieux falls victim of his own tricks and follies. The graphic killings, most of which are done quite well, become absolutely pointless, while the moviegoers’ comments quickly turn unto mindless chatter. In other words, the material simply cannot sustain director Dupieux’s obvious desire to imitate the various surrealist aesthetics Bunuel favored in his films.

The film’s finale could be seen as incredibly underwhelming or massively amusing. It is incredibly underwhelming because it fails to reveal exactly why Rubber was made - aside from perhaps to meet the narcissistic needs of its multi-talented creator; it is massively amusing because after all the pointless killings, sloppy jokes, and weird statements some of the moviegoers produce while watching the tire rolling through the desert, director Dupieux actually manages to end the nonsense that Rubber is on a relatively high note.

Ultimately, Rubber is an interesting experiment, but nothing more. It is too artificial and pretentious, lacking substance and explanation bizarre film.

Note: Last year, Rubber was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, the Fantasia International Film Festival, and the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival.

Rubber Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Quentin Dupieux's Rubber arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

Shot with a small digital camera, Rubber has a surprisingly rich look. The desert footage, for instance, looks strikingly rich (though it must be said that the editing in this film is far from impressive). Generally speaking, detail is also very good; the graphic close-ups from the second half of the film actually look too good. Sharpness and brightness levels, however, occasionally fluctuate, though it is the natural light, not a transfer issue, that is responsible for the fluctuations. Colors are vibrant but at the same time natural looking. Lastly, there are absolutely no transfer-specific anomalies to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Rubber Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

Even though there are more than a few scenes where the bass and the surround channels come alive, the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track does not impress. To be perfectly clear, there are absolutely no technical issues to report in this review; the audio structure and the special effects simply aren't too exciting. On the other hand, the dialog is crisp, clean, clear, and exceptionally easy to follow.

Rubber Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Teaser Test - a hilarious teaser for Rubber. Music only. (1 min, 1080/50i).

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Rubber. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080/50i).

• Interviews - four short interviews with director Quentin Dupieux and actors Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, and Roxane Mesquida. The first interview is as bizarre as the actual film.
  
  -- Quentin Dupieux - in French, with imposed English subtitles. (9 min, 1080/50i).
  -- Stephen Spinella - in English, not subtitled. (5 min, 1080/50i).
  -- Jack Plotnick - in English, not subtitled. (7 min, 1080/50i).
  -- Roxane Mesquida - in English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080/50i).

Rubber Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rubber is a curious film that is likely to appeal to some viewers, presumably those who prefer style over substance. I just could not get used to it. It is too chaotic and at times painfully pretentious. It is a good experiment, but not a good film. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment, looks and sounds good. RENT IT.