Rubber Cement

USA 1976, 16mm, col, sound, 10:00 min

realized by:

Robert Breer

available copies:

Canyon Cinema Inc.:

available for rent

LUX:

available for rent

synopsis: LUX online catalogue 2005

'Rubber cement - (a film splicing glue) is a temporary adhesive, it means you can move things around, right?' - R.B. to Lucy Fisher, UFSC Newsletter. An anarchic collage of invention, Rubber Cement uses Rotoscoped family footage together with found objects to create an almost free-form animation bursting with colour and movement. Abounding with allusions to the film making process and references to the history of animation (including a guest appearance by Felix the Cat), Breer conjures up - with the use of travelling mattes to let live action and animated images appear together - a joyous film full of warmth and humour.

synopsis: Canyon Cinema catalog 1992

"RUBBER CEMENT employs a variety of formal techniques and modes -- including live-action footage, line drawings, animated geometric figures, color washes and found material in the form of newspaper clippings and sales receipts. The soundtrack follows a similar collagist tendency, offering snatches of dialogue, music and natural sound. The film is divided loosely into sections -- some involving representational figures and others presenting purely abstract imagery.

"It seems fitting that one of the central 'characters' in RUBBER CEMENT is a bottle of film editing glue which collects and trails behind it a chain of colorful fragments. For through the collagist potential of frame-by-frame construction and the adhesive possibilities of the editing process, Breer has created a highly eclectic and brilliant cinematic work." --Lucy Fischer, UFSC Newsletter

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