Love the Beast

Love the Beast attempts to capture and represent the intense enthusiasm that Bana feels for the challenges and collective memory inculcated in his 1974 XB Ford Falcon coupe. One of the central metaphors is that of a campfire. The car functions as a 'campfire' around which Bana and his lifelong schoolyard mates congregate.

The film explores the complexities of the relationship between Bana and his car through the various forms of action punctuating their dual biography. To provide an insight into these complexities Bana attempts to stitch together the multi-dimensional relationships that have formed over the years. I can picture it in my head a little like a schematic for a fun park ride, an influence from here, a tension over there, and the ways the social and socio-technical challenges posed by the car mobilise the enthusiasm of Bana and his mates in differentially repeated ways.

Bana faces the challenges inculcated in the car differently as a young bloke growing up (modifying the car, attending car shows, hanging out with his mates, etc) compared to the challenges manifest when a movie star/adult (going racing, getting the car built, etc). I would've liked to have seen more of this, more of a focus on his younger days. He rebuilt the car three times, I think the second one was just before the car appeared in a magazine and Bana raced at Targa Tasmania for the first time. More about this era would've been fantastic.

The film is not a cynical attempt to capture the enthusiasm of car enthusiasts by interpolating it into box office takings ala the Fast and the Furious franchise. The only other film I am aware that comes close to what Bana is attempting here is The World's Fastest Indian. TWFI also attempts to directly represent an intense enthusiasm, but does so in more of a narrative-based way. Indeed, TWFI is a fictional account of an actual set of events. Bana's film is 'real life'; although framed in certain ways.

Bana lays out the multi-dimensional character of his enthusiasm by using traditional documentary techniques and almost unbelievably blessed with old video (and maybe even super-8) footage of when he was a kid, teenager and young man with his car. Although the film does follow a rough dramatic arc leading up to his race at the Targa Tasmania, this is used more as a kind of dramatic infrastructure around which to organise the micro-narratives provide by his somewhat charismatic ('knockabout') mates, his mother and father, other racers, and the celebrity interventions of the other above-title luminaries.

I was not really convinced how much the 'celebrities' add to the film, but I guess I would have seen this film without them; therefore, they are not for me. I attended a media screening of the film in Sydney and from what I could deduce I was the only gearhead there (I am a writer for Street Fords magazine in Australia). The bourgeois cinephile beside me snorted a suppressed giggle at whatever came out of Jeremy Clarkson's mouth; Clarkson is entertaining in a boorish sort of way. Dr Phil surprised me a little bit. I always dismissed him out of hand for being a popularist TV equivalent of a parlour trick. However, here Bana brings out his best, and Dr Phil almost (but not quite) comes across as compelling.

Similarly, Bana designed the film to be watched by an international audience and the opening scenes about "what most people around the world think of Australia" were interesting for locating Bana in the context of his background. The international audience will get such references as Mad Max, the celebrity talking heads, and so on.

The editing is mostly superb with a fine use of montage to play on the rhythm of expectation (everyone knows what is going to happen to Bana's car at the end), building up the tension and then relieving it. The camera work here is a cross between race car event coverage with documentary footage, with a few long, gliding shots of cars moving during the race; a bit like surfing cinematography or skateboarding in the way the camera attempts to implicate itself in the action.

Overall, the film is entertaining, intriguing and funny, and definitely a credit to Bana. Go see it.

I saw an advance screening for this yesterday (8/3/09) and surprisingly, I throughly enjoyed it. Eric Bana has constructed an entertaining and enjoyable look at his personal love affair with his first car (a 1974 Ford GT Falcon Coupe), the first car he ever bought as a teenager. The documentary extends beyond just any old "Car Flick", to focus on why we all have our obsessions and hobbies and the roles they play in our lives. You don't have to be a rev head to enjoy this and thats the point, as an interesting study of obsession and an insight to the private life of one of Australias best loved actors, this is definitely worth a look.

As a petrol head or gear head myself, I find this movie extremely easy to relate to and understand. The dedication and connection he has with his car is understandable to me, and the dream he had since his childhood is one that most petrol heads can find common ground in. "Fate, luck and circumstance" took him away from his passion, but his passion for cars, specifically his Falcon are something so many can comprehend.

This movie shows the trials, tribulations, and hardships that come with having a car addiction. I've been brought to tears watching a car drive away and felt the emptiness when something happens to the car. Cars are an extension of our personalities, they're than an analog or digital machine, they become a part of us and a part of our lives.

This movie is one of the first that has shown the automotive scene in such a positive light through dedication. It allows people a glimpse at the choices and the desires we have as car nuts, and gives them a grasp for what makes our wheels turn.

This movie is a must-see for anyone that loves cars.

I'm getting pretty fed up with people saying that this movie is for "car lovers only" because it's simply not true. This movie is for many people, collectors, Eric Bana fans, people who have a passion and want to see other people's passions etc.

It's a movie about racing and cars, about Eric Bana's car that has been a part of his life for a very long time, that right there is so beautiful to see. Eric Bana's relationship to his car is amazing, you would have to see it to believe it. And people who don't understand the love for cars will truly get a different opinion after seeing this film because it will grow on you, you will see how much something made out of tin parts (and then some) can become such passion and such love because of how long it will stick with you.

And to Eric Bana fans, if you love Eric Bana like I have, you HAVE TO see this movie. To me, Eric Bana is very much like his car is to him, I've grown up with Eric Bana and his movies and seen him grow as an actor, it feels as if he's my friend as with a couple of different actors. And if you really almost feel like he's family, you will have the same feelings as he does for his cars when you see how heartbreaking some scenes in this movie are. You will also see Eric Bana before a big movie premiere of his movie "Lucky You", it's a very rare glimpse into his life and how he feels before going to a premiere, it's quite cool and you'll see how awesome and down to earth he truly seems.

But do keep in mind that this is a documentary, it is mostly for car lovers, true, but it can still grow on you, because let's face it, it's not all just cars.

8/10

I just saw this today 1/3/10 and loved each and every second of it.

It seems that Mr. Bana and I have similar tastes in our love of cars. His a Falcon (what we in the U.S. looks to be a Ford Torino) and mine a Dodge Charger. We both love our cars in a way that is hard to understand by someone who is not a serious gear head.

The documentary shows a love of cars by Mr. Bana and his friends growing up that had the same appreciation of the automobile

Seeing this film makes me appreciate my love of muscle cars that much better.

The documentary contains an insightful cameo by TV host, Jay Leno. An annoying one by BBC Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson and something in-between by Dr. Phil McGraw.