Racing Films

Love the beast is a romantic tale of a man’s love affair with a machine.  The film is a semi biographical tale about actor Eric Bana and his car, a 1974 Ford XB Coupe.  The story outlines how the XB has been a focal point for Bana throughout his life, something that has kept him grounded, connected to his family and his mates. 

To get things going lets look at Eric Bana.  For those less familiar Eric Banadinovic is a fairly successful Australian actor.  After rising to prominence on TV, Bana had prominent roles in Chopper, Hulk (where ironically he played Bruce Banner), Black Hawk Down, Funny People and Special Correspondents.  One of the roles Kiwis and Aussies are likely to remember was his role in the classic film ‘The Castle’ as Con.  As aside, Bana and others were so convincing in their portrayal of quintessential Aussie characters that Google Movies originally listed the film as a documentary.  If you need proof check the photo!

In his early TV days Bana had a comedy character called Poida (Peter) who was based on a stereotypical Australian bogan with aspirations for the race track.  This character is a revealing clue to Bana, his background and upbringing in the suburbs of Melbourne.   These are things we get to learn more about in ‘Love the Beast’.  We also find out more about his family background, his father is Croatian and his mother is German and after migrating to Australia his father bought a Ford Thunderbird as he had dreamed of owning a big American car.  In the film we also see that this car still sits in his father’s garage, perhaps this was a sign of things to come for Bana?

Bana’s car, the Ford XB Falcon, was produced and sold in Australia between 1973 and 1976.  There were many versions, four door, coupe, wagon, utility and an XB GT that was a sports production car designed with enhancements for the race track.  At the time vehicle sales in Australia operated on a strong “race on Sunday sell on Monday” ethos. While not particularly successful at Bathurst, as they were competing against the nimble Holden Torana, the cars were still very popular due to their great muscle car styling.  Another selling point was interior space with tons of room for a large family or half a dozen mates and a few slabs of beer.  In total 211,971 XB Falcons were produced.

In 1984 Bana bought a 1973 XB Coupe Hardtop for $1100 (AUD).  Despite the car only being 11 years old at that stage it was showing the signs of having a rough life.  As his mate Tony says in the film, it was a “shit box.”  Despite this Bana fell in love with the car and he and his mates set about restoring it and keeping it road worthy.  In the film Bana describes the car as something like a campfire that drew his mates around to his garage to work on the car.  It became a strong connection point for him and his friends so now, many, many years later, he still hasn’t parted with it.

In 1995 the car went through its first restoration and race conversion.  Bana then entered the 1997 Targa Tasmania, a multi-day tarmac rally event on closed roads.  These events are not for the faint hearted and attract a mixture of enthusiasts including legends of motor racing like Jim Richards who makes a brief appearance in the film. The risk involved in Targa was brought to bear in the 2021 running of the event where three competitors were killed, prompting a review into safety.  Bana had so much fun at the 1997 event he vowed to return every year from then on, this didn’t happen, and he finally got to return in 2007.  By 2007 the car had gone through another restoration and an even more extreme race upgrade.

Throughout the film Bana’s connection with the car is explored in detail.  One of my favourite aspects of the film is the insights from Dr. Phil, who helps Bana understand why this car is so important to him.  These aspects of the film also help to understand why people connect to objects emotionally and rationalise this seemingly irrational aspect of human behaviour.  These insights provide Bana, and by extension the viewers a way to help understand how objects like this car become extensions of our personality and part of our existence contributing to our happiness and satisfaction in life.  Deep stuff.

At the other end of the spectrum are some typically uninsightful discussions with Jeremy Clarkson.  Clarkson again proves that he can’t open his mouth without saying something that is derogatory toward people who have a different world view to himself.   For example Clarkson states that it is not possible to enjoy a relationship with a Toyota Corolla to the extent Bana enjoys a relationship with his, more manly, XB Coupe.  Given that over 45 million Corollas have been produced and sold world wide I would guess there are quite a few people who like them, there are probably some people who love them and definitely a lot of people who have developed a strong personal connection with a Toyota Corolla.  I guess it might be hard for Clarkson to accept that the humble Toyota Corolla is definitely more popular and more likeable than he ever has been or will be.

Early in the film we are made aware of the fact that Bana has again entered his newly restored XB in Targa Tasmania.  Although this time it is even more of a beast, over 600 hp which is still being translated to the road through leaf spring suspension.  What could go wrong??!!  Gradually tension builds as we understand how important the car is, how dangerous Targa rallies can be and how much love and effort has culminated in preparing for this event.  On the second day of the event Bana crashes into some trees and his beast is damaged extensively.  This has a big effect on Bana and those around him as we see him going through a process of grief.  He is faced with a tough decision to either repair or part with his beast forever.  This is pretty much where the film ends, through the accident and grief Bana begins to discover more about what is most important to him, however, we are left in suspense as to whether the car will be revived.

Overall, this is a decent film that explores some interesting aspects of the human connection to cars.  It is also a distinctly Australian film and I am sure a lot of Kiwis and Aussies would relate to the, vehicles experiences and people that feature.  It was vehicles like the XB that Kiwis and Aussies grew up watching on race tracks as in those days live coverage of international racing further afield from Europe was impossible to access.  The moment Ford Falcon coupes finished 1 and 2 at Bathurst in 1977 is a moment that is embedded in Australian sporting folklore.  Cars like this helped create a lot of our racing heroes and the seeing these vehicles trigger emotions that are embedded deep in the core of our existence.

Love the Beast is not the only film to feature a Ford Falcon Coupe as it is pretty much the the star of Mad Max.  Bana’s thoughts on Mad Max sum up the intensity of his love for his car, “I was already determined to own a Falcon Coupe, so you can imagine the impact on me when I saw Mad Max.  Here I was nine years old in the western suburbs of Melbourne, with a suppressed creative bent, seeing Mel Gibson marry the two things I love the most, cinema, and a Falcon Coupe.”

Three and a half Hartley's (a big accolade for an Aussie)