“Carro Rei,” tells the story of a young boy who grows up in a taxi rank. He becomes greatly attached to old cars after finding he is able to speak to them. However, when he and his uncle rejuvenate these old models, the manipulative cars seduce those around them and turn evil.
“Maybe we already are machines and these are just our sad, little creations.”
Man, movies like these are why I love Fantasia Fest so much. Rare gems like these get to shine brightly. Clearly, I loved “Carro Rei.” As a person who lives in a major driving city, I found myself relating strongly to the socio-political elements within the film more than I ever thought I would. “Carro Rei” seems like one of those B-budget knockoff films capitalizing on a Stephen King craze but it’s really more “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” by way of “Christine.” Make no mistake, “Carro Rei” has a lot on its mind and this impressively inventive film catches the tiger by its tail and refuses to let go. “Carro Rei” reels you in with its simple premise and genuine characters, then guts you by tying theme and plot together in a way so many movies tend to miss.
“Carro Rei” follows Uno (Luciano Pedro Jr.), the son of a taxicab owner. Uno’s ability to talk to cars comes in handy after his father’s business starts to fail. The local mayor outlawed cars fifteen years or older as part of his “save the environment” initiative. Uno convinces his estranged uncle ‘Ze (Matheus Nachtergaele) to help salvage his old family mobile, creating King Car. Soon Uno and ‘Ze salvage more and more cars. While Uno’s Dad only sees dollar signs his friends see trouble. King Car’s motivations aren’t what you think they are, and even his love might be his own undoing.
“Carro Rei” starts you off with genuine family drama. In fact, this film would be nothing without the consistent character choices that carry it to its brutal climax. Every actor fills their roles to a tee with standout Matheus Nachtergaele rising above the rest as the twitchy Uncle. Matheus’ slow development from beleaguered family burden to vengeful mechanic and finally to unhinged dictator impressed the hell out of me as the whole time I couldn’t help but feel sad for his character. Luciano Pedro Jr. anchors this whole film with his wide-eyed teenage protagonist. Without him, the film might feel hollow or less-than. Instead, he carries us through the various moral gymnastics undergone to justify birthing arguably a race of evil cars with the most honest of goals. Lastly, props are deserved to Jules Elting. They round out the entourage with aplomb and verve bringing that extra little “oomph.”
Let’s just get this out of the way: “Carro Rei” sounds like Stephen King’s “Christine” on paper. Still, the film’s characters feel so firmly rooted in tragedy the two have only the most basic concept in common. Screenwriter Sergio Oliveira constructed a bizarre story, sure, but one with strong character threads it’s hard to untangle any of this film.
What makes “Carro Rei” stand head and shoulders above other potentially B-budget cult films is its urban deconstruction. When the mayor outlaws older cars as part of a green initiative, the protagonist, King Car, points out that only the impoverished drive those cars. By removing their capabilities to drive across the city, the mayor effectively isolates lower class and impoverished people in their own neighborhoods all in the name of climate change. Most overtly the film contrasts the means of overthrowing political oppression. While the farmer’s collective Uno belongs to bears harassment from the government their response is to grow plants in ungrowable areas. Whereas King Car’s response involves creating an army of sentient cars, indoctrinating the human workers by feeding them coolant and planting themselves among the city. Even within the ranks of cars, there are the haves (the older cars commonly used as taxis) and the have-nots (the luxury cars resting outside their owners’ mansions).
The film takes pains to deliver concrete talking points, even at the expense of a clean ending. We’re encouraged to think locally and learn self-sufficiency as a means of weaning ourselves off the needs of the oppressive government. Growing our own food is a farsighted means of liberty. Whereas violent overthrow may create new structures but power will always coalesce at the top. Choose plants over machines, grow don’t engineer. The critique of greenwashing feels especially potent coming from Brazil, a country notorious for deforestation. In a time when the Brazilian government skews nationalists and populists, this film feels like a stark protest to the wheels of power. While oppressed men build machines to overthrow their oppressors, the revolution only takes speed when capitalists find a dollar to make in the whole affair, and women who grow plants are the only solution. Like I said, I got a lot out of this movie.
Director Renata Pinheiro holds the whole thing together with deft direction. The choice of practical effects never feels limiting for such a small-budget film, but rather frees the director to milk tension out of as many scenes as possible. The blue tones cool every shot and disappear to the occasional neon beam.
“Carro Rei” is one of those movies that keeps you on your toes. There are plenty of highlights: a sex scene with the car (not as graphic as it sounds), an implied offscreen murder, a pole dancing mechanic, break dancers that swallow coolant and dance. When put together like that, the whole film sounds wild and hokey. I promise you this film manages to excel way past the sum of its parts and much more into something downright literary. Come for the insane premise, stay for the thematic hat trick, and maybe leave a little confused about what actually happened. It’s rare a film like this can leave you so confused.
“Carro Rei” recently had its North American Premiere at the 2021 Fantasia Festival
