Movie Details
| Title: | Kim's Video | |
| Director: | David Redmon, Ashley Sabin | |
| Year: | 2023 | |
| Genre: | Documentary | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 12.28.25 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (0)
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 12.28.25 | Internet | This is a documentary about the New York City video store and the story of what happened to the tape catalog after it closed. At least, I think it's a documentary. Sometimes it doesn't feel like one but I'm giving the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt. You know, in the first fifteen minutes, I thought this was going to be an interminable movie to watch. The director talks about himself using movie references and says shit like the movies speak to him. It's a tough opening that had me question my own love of movies, like it's really not for public display if you come off sounding anything like this guy. Similarly, making a documentary about a video store feels hopelessly navel-gazey. Once upon a time I had an urge to make a documentary about the Alamo Drafthouse (that fizzled because I didn't know what the fuck I was doing) that I think might also have been a waste of time. But then the movie starts to talk about what happened to the library of VHS and DVD titles after Kim's closed and the filmmakers' film brat references began to pay off because that particular story IS interesting and worth learning about. From there, the movie goes to Sicily and Korea and we meet all sorts of characters as we get to the bottom of what happened. Then the movie really takes off in the last act where it begins to look and feel less like a documentary and more like the movies we're seeing clips of. And it ends with clips of Citizen Kane (of course) and winds up being a rewarding experience as well as a celebration of cinema. Quite a ride. Just like Nouvelle Vague, I don't know if anyone that's not a film nerd gives a shit, but if you are this is worth seeing. I would like an update to find out what will happen to the library now that Sony owns it but I guess that's what the Internet is for. |
