Delayed Reaction: Kim's Video

Premise: A man tracks down the famous Kim's Video library from New York to a small town in Italy.

The story of Kim's Video is a fascinating one. It was this small New York City video franchise that collected an enormous library of legal and illegal films. Both proper releases and bootlegs you couldn't find anywhere else. It was part of a specific scene throughout the 80s and 90s. The number of famous former employees and members is extensive. The founder of Kim's Video is an enigmatic South Korean businessman who you'd never guess owned such an establishment. When it closed in 2009, as all video stores eventually did, they sent the collection to a town in Italy that promised to maintain and digitize the collection. While it did go to Italy, the collection was not taken care of. I love the idea of a documentary that tracks down the how, why, and what next of Kim's Video.

Unfortunately, the filmmaker of this also seems to be the most insufferable film nerd. Throughout the movie, co-director/co-writer David Redmon is compelled to prove his film nerd bonafides with references to all the movies he's seen. He can't just go to Italy. He has to muse about how much it was like the Corleons in The Godfather. He can't even just cut in the clip of the reference. He has to point it out every time. If the movie just disposed of that aspect, I'd bump this several letter grades. I can't express just how annoying that was.

I was also not a fan of the ending when they appear to either invent or exaggerate the tale of how the collection makes it back home. I really wish the filmmaker would've trusted how interesting the story was on its own. They added so many unneeded flourishes that both distracted and annoyed. Hopefully, this movie at least leads to a more in-depth Wikipedia article or investigative piece on The Ringer or something. I'd love to read more about this story without the annoying stuff strewn throughout this doc.

Verdict: Strongly Don't Recommend