Starring: Eric Bana
Eric Bana loves his car. So much so that he used his celebrity status to get a doco made singing the praises of his ‘Beast’ – a 1974 Ford GT Falcon Coupe.
Indulgent? Sure, but such is Bana’s enthusiasm and charm that you happily go along for the ride as the star restores his muscle car before wrapping it around a tree in 2007 during the Targa Tasmania rally.
Along the way, Bana, who also directs, visits some famous motor enthusiasts including Jeremy Clarkson and Jay Leno.
Featuring scene-upon-scene of blokes looking under bonnets and souped-up cars tearing up the Aussie countryside, Love The Beast could easily have been nothing more than porn for petrolheads. Bana’s got more depth than most movie stars, though, and his musings about how his car acts as a “campfire” to bring together friends and family are genuinely touching.It helps that his mates are a hoot, with navigator Tony Ramunno’s recollections of Bana as a teenager particularly entertaining.
The most unusual of love stories, Love The Beast will make you fall for Bana, Tasmania and a car called the Beast.
Good for: Top Gear fans.
PIERRE DE VILLIERS
