GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★☆ (3.8/5)
Directed by: Jessie Scott
Featuring: Philip Brophy, Ian Haig, Cassandra Tytler, Xanthe Dobbie, Jean Lizza, Diego Ramirez and Spiro Economopoulos.
Released as part of the 2023 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival
Rainbow Video is a deep dive documentary about what is fast becoming a myth, the video store.
This is a discussion, a conversation with locals who work in stores (or worked in stores), curators, film lovers, collectors, distributors and artists all talking about movies, about the ‘video logic’ of choosing a movie to watch based on a cool cover, or a cult book recommendation that can only be found, in store.
It’s about ‘opportunities of discovery,’ and ‘organised hording.’ And I loved watching it.
The conversation is told through the view of a hand-held camera with cuts to the rainbow vision of titles to shop front displays and opening hours to watching a customer rent a DVD that was so simple yet somehow riveting.
In rare moments, you can hear the crew of the film ask a question off mike, which adds to the inclusive feel of the documentary, but the voice of the director, first time film maker, Jessie Scott, is heard through the video cuts added to the discussion – those moments of Melbourne, of seeing people walk down the street, a tram whooshing by setting the scene for the introduction to a local video store that until recently, used to be a weekly, even bi-weekly journey.
I kept smiling as I got caught up in the joy of the contributors talking about all things video: the search, the conversation, the recommendations and the culture of the video store.
The artists talk of their own projects and creative process as they stand on a ream of blue paper or while sitting to have a friendly black dog come into view with tail wagging – all to a peppy soundtrack.
It’s like the audience is invited into the conversation.
And what an interesting conversation – it gets philosophical and creative and inspiring, a little political and a little sad as the credits show the video stores featured in the documentary are mostly closed.
It’s about transition and the idea of the tangible to the weightlessness of digital and what that means in the context of watching a film.
I recently went to my local library and decided to spend some time looking through their CD collection. I felt like finding something new. Something I might not think of listening to and found 15 disks to take home. I was chuffed so took a photo of the CDs all laid out to post on Facebook, to get the reply – ‘Ever heard of Spotify?’ And was sad that someone just didn’t understand the spirit of finding something new and unexpected.
Watching this documentary made me feel like meeting my people because it taps into that fun of discovery.
It’s an interview of people who really know what they’re talking about, who are genuine film lovers and fascinating which says a lot about Scott as a film maker because she’s framed the discussion so well.