It is the first and probably only film in the world where the main
character is a killer rubber tyre possessing psychokinetic talents. The
director of this film, Quentin Dupieux, is easier recognized by his nickname,
Mr Oizo, rather than by his name. He is also a producer, musician and DJ. His
most famous work so far are the adverts for Levi’s Jeans, starring a yellow
puppet head-banging to music, holding a sausage in its mouth as if it were a
cigar. This particular director’s work is most often remembered for their
absurdist, surreal qualities.
“Rubber” was shot in Los Angeles, Lancaster and Palmdale
(California, USA). The desert’s natural lighting had a positive effect on the
final picture – vibrant, intensive colors which make the recorded picture of
the highest quality. Dupieux also has a tendency to set up the camera in
“crazy” places, which gives us varied, interesting camera shots. The special
effects team also made a lot of effort to have the living tyre roll in a realistic
way.
The beginning of “Rubber” makes the viewer unsure what to expect at
first. In a piece of brilliant monologue, the sheriff – policeman informs the
viewers – both those sitting in the cinema and ones gathered in the desert –
that the film is a tribute to inconsequence, a factor of “no reason” present in
almost every cinematographic piece.
„Ladies, gentlemen, the film you are about to see today is an homage
to the "no reason" - that most powerful element of style”
This „no reason” is his answer to everything and, if you take into
account that the man is seen traveling in the trunk of the police car instead
of the seat, the viewer is made to feel confused. The act of spilling a glass
of water he received from the driver onto the desert sands is also there for no
apparent reason. It could be a reference to the apt observation, that there is
no water on the desert.
The film’s plot is placed on three planes, which gradually begin to
fade into one another.
First of all, we have a group of people who drove to the desert to
watch a film through binoculars. What is surprising is that they call a film
what is really a spectacle which is supposed to take place in the field, with
no script – in fact, it is almost reality. It doesn’t matter whether the film
moves indoors, the viewers see everything perfectly fine. This omnipresent
irony is the strongest part of this film.
The second plane is related to events connected to the organizers of
this spectacle, the sheriff-policeman and the accountant who mediate between
the viewers and the characters.
The third and most important plane is the story of the Tyre, which
springs to life, but does not know what, or perhaps who, it is. The beginnings of the Tyre’s life are
difficult. Just as a small child learns to crawl and walk, so does the Tyre
learns to turn and move in its particular fashion. It also learns that it can
destroy certain objects by crushing them, having no trouble with smashing a
plastic bottle and even a live scorpion scuttling in the desert. However, when
it tries to damage a glass bottle, it cannot manage to do so. Enraged, it
realizes that it can destroy things using telekinesis. From that moment, heads
of various rabbits, birds and people are seen bursting. The Tyre behaves justly
to a point. It kills only those who mistreated it. The situation changes when
it witnesses a group of people burning other tyres, whereupon it swears
revenge. From that point, killings begin en-masse. The only person in the film
who first points out that the murderer is a tyre is a little boy, who even
tries to make contact with it. This most probably relates to the notion that
kids see more than adults and they understand things differently. On the Tyre’s
trail is the sheriff-policeman, who appears to be directing the story as it
happens.
Quentin Dupieux has merged classic horror themes with surreal
visuals. Naked woman under a shower? Typical. A tyre under a shower?
Incredible. If we add in a tyre watching television, drinking water from a
puddle, sleeping or feeling love, we receive something completely absurd.
The breakthrough scene is definitely the moment the Tyre sees itself
in a mirror, while it’s whole life flashes before it’s eyes, where it discovers
that it is not human.
“Rubber” is a film where the main character’s emotions are
unreadable through face or voice expression. The creators had to present them
in another way. The method used is simply incredible and adds a certain charm
to the whole picture. They decided to use music. Most of the time, the movie is
silent, with the only sounds being the tyre scraping through the ground, leaves
rustling and animal calls. Only where there is a need to focus on the Tyre’s
feelings the music starts to play. Thanks to this particular method, the viewer
knows exactly when the Tyre feels anger, sadness or happiness. The soundtrack
to “Rubber” contains electronic music produced by Mr Oizo and Gaspard Auge. It
is first and foremost a soundtrack however, so hard electronic beats are only a
small part of it. The sound is, of course, fat and juicy, the pieces intriguing
and are easily imagined as backdrops for film scenes.
In the meantime, the Accountant, who is shown before in a scene
filled with irony and grotesque, tries to feed the viewers with a poisoned
turkey. Almost everyone, besides an old man in a wheelchair, end up dead. The
sheriff decides to end the show, but resumes it once he finds out the old man
has not eaten the turkey and is still alive and watching. The other policemen
consider the sheriff a complete nut since they believe what is happening is
reality, not fiction. What should be mentioned is that the sheriff is shot
twice at his own request and still lives. He does this while trying to convince
the others that this is only a film, not reality. The strangest perhaps is that
the Accountant, who tries again to persuade the wheelchair-bound old man to eat
the delicious poison, dies himself as a result of succumbing to the
deliciousness of the turkey and eating it. I suspect this scene is added “for
no reason”, since it makes completely no sense to me. Of all viewers observing
the tyre, only one, crippled man is seen watching the spectacle with true
focus, analytically and critically evaluating it, which, unfortunately, also
leads to tragedy, since he involves himself in the film too much and becomes a
part of it.
Analyzing this particular film what needs to be taken into account
is that the main character is not the Tyre, but the audience. It is a metaphor
for modern viewers who eat up story-told idiocy only because they go to the
cinema just to fill up on popcorn.
Dupieux laughs at his own audience, which is oh so similar to the
one poisoned on the desert. If asked why he’s poised to say “for no reason”.
This film is much more than just a story about a killer tyre. It is “about” the tyre but the tyre is
completely irrelevant to the story. It is really about the actors and the people
who are in the film - they are the main focus of the story, which is told in a
unique way. It is a metaphor for all those mainstream Hollywood films where
things happen for no reason. It is a joke made from the Hollywood film world.
Quentin Dupieux’s piece is definitely extraordinary. It probably
will not be enjoyed by all, some will even find it revolting.
Most of the people who criticize this movie say that it is boring to
watch the adventures of a killer tyre which are ridiculous and make no sense. Those
people do not understand the metaphor. It is not as stupid as it seems to be.
This film is a small masterpiece – the form, production, viewers straight up on
stage, the photography technique and the idea itself. It is a delicious,
cunning parody of film reality. Watching “Rubber”, the viewer has a lot of time
to think about what it is really about and what the point is, if there is any.
For those who do not understand this film and consider it boring and pointless
I suggest watching it again and not focusing on the tyre, which is only a
storytelling tool.
