The Cars that Ate Paris (1974)

"No one leaves Paris. No one!" - Mayor

aka: The Cars that Eat People
A town hides a deadly secret about automobile violence.
Starring: Terry Camilleri, John Meillon, Kevin Miles, Bruce Spence, Chris Haywood

Link to IMDB

The small village of Paris, Australia has a very disturbing secret that touches the lives of all of its citizens. The dangerous stretch of road outside of town is not caused by poor planning but by intention, because the townsfolk have been deliberately crashing the cars of tourists for years. They do this to collect the salvage and keep their small economy afloat, at the cost of many lives.

The most recent crash has brought Arthur Waldo to the Paris hospital. Arthur is unharmed except for his irrational anxiety and fear of vehicles, so the townsfolk take pity on him. He's a very timid guy but the friendly Parisian's willingness to adopt him gives him peace of mind.

To an outsider, the only noticeable problem that the community seems to have is the rowdy youth driving their hideously smashed-up hot rods with abandon. But the longer that Arthur stays in Paris, the more he realizes there are other weirder things going on behind the scenes.

Mayor

The Mayor is a cheerful man that takes a keen interest in Arthur, and begins treating him like a surrogate son. Arthur gets a job and all of his needs are taken care of, but he can't help feeling that he's been manipulated and trapped. Since his fear of driving means there is no way for him to leave the isolated town, Arthur is resigned to join Paris.
As daily life continues for Arthur, the movie reveals it's biggest flaw; it can get pretty slow at times. This does build the suspense of where Arthur's troubles are heading so it doesn't get truly dull, but the anticipation of wondering when more mystery will be revealed goes on for awhile. 

The final 30 minutes is when the plot with the Mayor trying to control the terrorizing youth comes to fruition, and thankfully it is well worth the wait. The kids in their savage automobiles rebel against the community, and it becomes a wacky and tragic civil war as the town's dependency on violence turns against them.

Parking in Paris

The tone and style of the movie is quite enjoyable and eccentric. It's delivered quite straight and yet still comes across very strange; the comparison I kept returning to was Twin Peaks. There are many disturbing and hilarious elements subtly hinted at instead of being directly shown or explained to us, and this creates a slightly surreal and morbid undercurrent to the atmosphere.
With an almost Cronenberg-esque threat of doom mixed with dark satirical humour, these multiple styles interweave in harmony and never feel overbearing. Like I said, subtlety is used perfectly throughout and it keeps you alert even in the slow parts.

Thematically, there's a lot to dig into here if one wants to, and the movie seems to encourage it. I fully appreciated the Ballardian use of violence and it's uncontrollable byproduct of cars riotously smashing the status-quo to pieces. It makes for a twisted and fun parable.


Be sure not to miss:
- The mental health patients have some great costumes at the dance.
- The opening sequence is a violent parody of 1970's advertising. A nice touch that sets the mood.
- "I can drive."
- Directed by Peter Weir

Internet review:
"It's smart, gross, cheeky, macabre and just great." - Alice_K

Should I watch it?
Yes.

Where can I find it?
There's one link here.

The Cars that Ate Paris gets...