Melbourne International Film Festival: The Killer Tire

by Ernesto Zelaya Minano 26 July 2010 20:47 Filmink Festival Coverage

A film about a love-scorned rubber tire? Welcome to the most offbeat film of the festival this year...

Film festivals are a great opportunity for audiences to see something new: unconventional films which would never play at the local multiplex. The Melbourne International Film Festival is no exception, and it doesn't get much more removed from the mainstream than Rubber, a film whose demented premise is so irresistible, it's hard to pass up.

Robert is a killer with psychic powers, who, after being scorned by a newfound love, wanders the desert seeking out new victims. He just happens to be a tire.

Called "an homage to the 'no reason'", Rubber lets viewers know what they're in for with an early disclaimer that emphatically recommends that no one ask questions of what they're about to see. As our clueless sheriff character indicates (right after hopping out of a car's trunk, for no reason), some things in film - why E.T. is brown, or why no one in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre uses the bathroom - are better off unexplained.

Director Quentin Dupieux throws every oddball occurrence he can think of at the screen, while every single member of the cast plays it completely straight (most of them seem on the verge of cracking up). The results are hilarious, provided you're in the right frame of mind. The sight of a sentient piece of vulcanised rubber rolling around on the ground, randomly blowing up people's heads a la Scanners or attempting to commit suicide by drowning in a pool, has to be seen to be believed.

Meanwhile, the audience is asked to simply take it all at face value. Some will see Dupieux as a mad genius and embrace the surreal, while for others the novelty will wear off after 10 minutes and they'll be left wondering what exactly they sat down to watch.

Rubber can function somewhat as a parody of slasher films, with its over-the-top gore, stalking sequences set to suspenseful music, and characters doing dumb things; it even has a set-up for an inevitable sequel. Unlike those, however, Dupieux's film is technically polished, with admittedly good photography.

However, any attempt to coherently explain Rubber is futile; it's a mindless, hilarious romp, definitely not for all tastes and which is destined to become a cult classic playing in midnight screenings. One would be hard pressed to find a more bizarre film playing at this year's Melbourne Film Festival, and for its goofy premise alone, it's worth at least some curiosity.