There's a video store on Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank where the conversation is as likely to turn to Danny Elfman as it is to the films he’s scored. Matthew Renoir opened it because he thinks that's exactly how it should be.

Matthew Renior didn’t open Be Kind Video because he had a theory about culture. He opened it because he always wanted to, since high school, since he and a friend used to talk about it, mostly because they wanted to film something in a video store.

The great-grandson of Jean Renoir and a direct descendant of Pierre-Auguste feels like the kind of detail a screenwriter would cut for being too on the nose, and yet here he is, on Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank, a street already full of vintage shops, record stores and bookshops, a whole stretch of LA that has refused to go generic. He’s worked as a cinematographer, spent years building other people’s worlds frame by frame, and somewhere in that time decided what he actually wanted was a room where people could wander in off the street, get reminded of a film they’d half-forgotten, and end up talking to a stranger about it for 45 minutes.

We talked about community, nostalgia, and why the stores that survive are the ones built around something bigger than rental, including the scores and composers that give the films on his shelves their soul.

What was the moment you decided that opening a physical video store in 2020s Burbank wasn’t crazy, but necessary?

Video stores have always been necessary to me. Funnily enough, my whole life I thought it would be so great to own a video store, even in high school I was scoping out locations to open one in my tiny town. My friend Aaron and I kicked around the idea for years, mostly because we wanted to film in a video store. During the pandemic, most people gravitated toward collecting things that brought them comfort and nostalgia, such as video games, toys, comics, and VHS tapes. After being isolated for so long and not wanting to touch things, it seemed like a video store was the antidote.

"It's a giant empathy machine, connecting people across all time and locations."

What do people rediscover about film when they have to browse shelves and talk to a person instead?

I think a lot of people forget what they’ve seen, or rather get reminded of so many great movies when browsing for a film to rent or buy. Overall, it’s the sharing aspect that seems most universal about film. It’s a solo experience watching a film, yet we want to do so with other people. There’s a community around film. Maybe stemming from film being the most collaborative art. It’s a giant empathy machine, connecting people across all time and locations.

If you had to pick one film score that captures the soul of Be Kind Video, which would it be and why?

Danny Elfman’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure score. Mainly because the film captures the imagination and evokes nostalgia that jumps back to before the 1980s, it sort of encompasses the whole of film history. As for the music, it’s wild circus style, infectious, and gets your heart pumping.

"After being isolated for so long and not wanting to touch things, it seemed like a video store was the antidote."

What kinds of conversations or chance encounters happen inside your store that could never happen online?

Many people have reunited in the store, maybe they went to school together, or worked together. We do have a few recognisable customers who work in film, so it’s great to see people connect with them over movies. I did think I would be recommending films to customers all day, but it’s the opposite. I learn so much about film from people every day. It’s really incredible.

When someone looks back on Be Kind Video in 20 years, what do you hope they remember: a specific title they rented, a feeling, or a community you helped build?

Definitely the community. Before the store opened, my neighbour in the next unit, Thomas, told me about goodwill in business, how you have to build that with customers, be more than just a business. I never expected to have the community embrace the store as much as they have. The amount of thank-yous and praise daily is incredible, to say nothing of the amount of donations made weekly. Most of the store is made up of donations from frequent customers, as well as random people just dropping off bags full of movies. It’s incredible.

Culture