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Love the Beast (2009) - Directed by Eric Bana

post #1 of 7
Thread Starter 


Having a passion for auto racing myself, I've been wanting to check this one out for awhile. Growing up Bana formed a love for cars. Muscle cars specifically. He bought a Ford Falcon when he was younger and spent his youth fixing it up. In 1996 him and his friends converted it into a race car to compete in the Targa Tasmania 5 day road race.

It's an interesting look at someones passion. He speaks to Dr. Phil about it all and gets advice on his love and obsession with the car and racing. It's interesting to note that he wanted to be an auto racer growing up but he says that circumstances took him elsewhere.

In 2006, eleven years after he competed in the 1996 Targa Tasmania, he restored the car again to return to the track.

It's worth a look and it's a very personal movie. Dr Phil has a good moment where he talks about having hobbies and passions and being lost with out them. I really liked that part and it got to me a bit. Oh and for Jay Leno haters (yes, yes, I'm one too) he's in this but he isn't annoying and doesn't try to be funny.
post #2 of 7
Thread Starter 
No one else saw this? Come on! It's Eric Bana! Eric Bana racing cars!
post #3 of 7
Caught this on Netflix. Very educational for me. I know very little about cars apart from boyhood fantasies about driving the Adam West Batmobile or the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am. I loved that Mad Max was part of the influence in Bana's car love. The relationships between his friends was pretty interesting.
The cinematography was beautiful and I always love that feeling when a film makes you want to get in a car and just drive for the sheer pleasure that it brings.
The conclusion for his Dad's old car almost brought a tear to my eye.
I really enjoyed how warm and personal Bana is in this. I'm sure there are very few famous actors who enjoy press tours, but it always makes me laugh when they deal with that stuff in a very down to earth way.

On the bad side: For me there was not enough Jeremy Clarkson and too much Dr. Phill.
post #4 of 7
Thread Starter 
What I liked about that press junket scene in New York is that he seemed really annoyed by it. He admitted it too saying that he'd rather be back in Australia racing. His mind was still on racing and he didn't care about the movie that he made two years earlier. I love the line he has where he says that he has to remember all the funny stories about working on the movie, true or not true. So honest that it's all just lies when they're interviewed on the red carpet!

I liked the ending to his dads car and you could see it coming when they said his dad hasn't driven it for years. But it was nice to see regardless. And I'd be curious to know if Bana and his friends have fixed the race car by now. I'm sure he has. And it was Jay Leno who said that Bana wouldn't have wrecked had he been the one who re-built the car not that other guy. There some weird logic to that. It sounds weird but it also makes sense and even Bana seemed interested in what he was saying and how there could be some truth there.
post #5 of 7
Yep. That personal connection that occurs with something that you've put hours of your life into is very understandable. Part ego, part practicality, but mostly just the love of the work.

I was happy that the guy with the wife and kid stuck to his guns in not wanting to sell his car.
post #6 of 7
I really want to see this. Kind of loved the trailer when it came out.
post #7 of 7
Always been a huge car guy, so of course I loved this when I saw it.
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