Aussie Flix: The Cars That Ate Paris

Alas, this is not what it sounds like.  This is a 1971 Comedy/Drama/Horror Film by Peter Weir.  Based on that name (and the Title I put on this), you know that it is Australian.  They are not in Paris, France.  There are not killer cars eating the city.  Alas, this is not a Prequel to The Killer Tomatoes Eat France!  Instead of any of that, it is...a Film about a Town that exploits car accidents for fun and profit?  Is this the Town that thought that Crash- the Cronenberg one- was a Comedy?  The whole thing is very weird, featuring some people you'll recognize from other stuff.  The Director is obviously quite renowned and respected, which means that I haven't done one of his Films in over 3 Years!  Is this a forgotten gem or, as it was when Corman tried to sell it in America, too weird to make sense of?  To find out, read on...

The Film begins with a random couple getting killed for no reason.  No mention of them ever again.

After that, we see two guys driving around and seeing a bunch of signs for Paris.

...and their car rolls over, killing one of them.

Oh and our Hero played Napoleon in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure- you're welcome.

The Town of Paris is full of weirdos that salvage car parts from wrecks and, well, wear them.

The man survives the crash and is taken in by the Town.  Why they don't lobotomize him is kind of hand waved away, because, Plot.

We see a different crash happen and the people pick the thing away for parts.  Freaky folks.

As the Film goes on, there's a conflict between the Mayor and his Enforcers.  They punish one of them for disobeying orders by burning his car!

The Film builds up to a big Party where everyone dresses up in costumes.  Australian Lincoln?

The Enforcers return in their Cars to smash up the city.  They sure aren't overcompensating!

Our Hero is told to use a car to kill one of them and uses his newfound confidence to leave Town.

What a lesson!  The End.

An odd little Film.  It's easy to see why it was hard to market in the U.S.  Is it a Comedy?  Well, it has weird, quirky characters.  Is it a Drama?  Well, it does feature lots of conflict.  Is it a Horror Film?  Well, it does feature loss of death and killers.  Is it a Comedy though?  It has laughs, but also freaky people who aren't funny.  Is it a Drama though?  For every bit of conflict, you have, well, Australian Lincoln and other stuff.  Is a Horror Film though?  For all of the death, it is mostly about morality and doesn't end with the Villain being punished (directly).  The Cars That Ate Paris is a hard Film to define.  It's good, but not great to me.  It has neat ideas, a neat setting and some interesting stuff.  On the other hand, it's a bit slow, a bit random and a bit anti-climactic at the end.  It is so close to being one Genre or the other, but not quite working as either.  It's also not quite a good Genre-Bender, as the divide between the sections is a bit blurry and strange.  On the plus side, the Gyro Captain from Mad Max is here...

Next time, more random stuff I keep collecting.  I'll never run out of stuff, so keep reading!  Stay tuned...