Kim's Video (2023) User Reviews

Magnificent

[teokaranikas · 10/10 · 11 March 2023]

I just saw it at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and I have this magnificent feeling when I experience something so overwhelming. I want to rate it because it s a pity this movie to have so mediocre ratings and to help with my comment other people that love movies to go ant see it.

It s an hommage to the cinema. The story is so unbelievable. Besides that, the directors did a fantastic job. There was not just a single moment of boredom. There were moments that all the cinema laughed. One of the best documentaries I have ever seen and I see a lot. In my hometown Thessaloniki festival I saw 40. Go see it. Thank me later 😎

An Extremely Interesting Story That Feels Lost

[chenp-54708 · 5/10 · 1 February 2023]

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

"Kim's Video" is a documentary that follows trail of beloved video store films from New York City to Sicily. The history of Kim's Video is pretty interesting especially those who love collecting physical media. Directed by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin, while the film never feels boring, it's unfortunate the documentary goes all over the place.

The presentation is pretty good and there are pretty good archival footages used showing the history of Kim's Video and how it's legacy has changed over the years. There are interviews from participants that were very interesting to listen and observe. However, the documentary gets lost as the film tends to focus way too much on the personals side of the main filmmaker rather than focusing on the history and facts behind Kim's Video.

It's understandable where the filmmakers are trying to approach but the main structure doesn't feel focused. It goes from an documentary filled with facts and historical ideas to an personal journey that feels a bit full of itself and not self-aware. "Kim's Video" was never boring but it was annoying to see the uneven structure of the documentary and discussions that felt a little unsatisfied.

Overall, it's not bad but it's pretty underwhelming.

Rating: C+

Film maker got in the way of an interesting story

[mesaxi · 5/10 · 26 May 2024]

The story of Kim's Video does have some interesting details with some bizarre aspects, but the way it was presented felt extremely clumsy and awkward. About 25% of the documentary is the filmmakers barraging you with dub step while they namedrop movies to relate the situation. The narrator seems to admit an obsession, though the film lists two writer/directors so it's hard to say who exactly is saying these things. The deadpan, almost monotone narration reminded me of Fire of Love, which was the major fault I had with that documentary.

The ultimate issue was that the filmmakers treated this situation with a pile of tapes like it was some serious criminal act that needed to be rectified. They went to a small town in Italy and started harassing people like they were all in on some conspiracy to steal these tapes or something. The chief of the police was a bit of an oddball, but I think he had an appropriate reaction to a bunch of Americans strolling into town like they were entitled to something, bothering the locals, trespassing, and ultimately stealing (though I find that whole part dubious). Even Kim himself seemed like he was simply glad to have gotten rid of the tapes, and was only humoring them because they approached him like investigative reporters filming an expose.

Ultimately, it was a pile of bootleg tapes that some culturally significant people accessed before they were famous. Sure some of it is rare or even one of a kind, but that's because it was discarded rubbish. Now they've reclaimed the tapes so they can not be watched somewhere else.