MIFF: The Cars That Ate Paris rides again

As the Melbourne International Film Festival enthrals audiences once more, our writers take in the cream of the festival crop. Here, The Burne's Max Hutson celebrates the revival of the Australian classic The Cars That Ate Paris.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Peter Weir’s film The Cars that Ate Paris was restored and screened for MIFF 2024 and was excited and impressed he Capitol Theatre audience.

Terry Cammileri, who plays Arthur Waldo in the film, opened the screening by praising his work with Peter Weir on the film, stating that the legendary director is someone “you don’t work for, you work with”. 

The film is a very interesting slice of Australian history, showing the fears that arose from the rising road fatalities. After young Arthur Waldo gets in a suspicious car accident, he finds himself trapped in the rural Australian town of Paris, whose citizens cause car accidents and profit off selling the scraps that remain. Being trapped in the town with a fear of driving, Arthur is taken in by the Mayor (John Meillon) and his family and is met with the youth of Paris who go around driving bush-basher cars and causing havoc. It is only when the young people go too far and start destroying the town that Arthur is given a chance to redeem himself and face his fear of driving. 

The film compares the old and the new through the relationship between the past and future generations in Paris. The traditionalism of the family-orientated lifestyle represents the past generation and is seen as Arthur is almost held captive in the mayor’s family home, while the future generation is free to drive and do whatever they want in their brightly multi-coloured cars. 

This comparison may divide the young and old audiences, as the film criticises both generations. Although the young people are depicted as the antagonists, driving around in cars with swastikas painted on the side, the older people of Paris are not all saints themselves. The mayor is no exception, as he recognises that the town causing and profiting off car crashes is a morally bad thing but still goes along with it anyway. The town’s doctor, Dr. Midland (Kevin Miles), is also a morally bad person, who spends the film experimenting and lobotomising the surviving victims of the car crashes. 

However, the audience at MIFF really enjoyed the film, with many bursts of laughter at the excessive Australian-ness and the exaggeratedly tense moments that are extinguished by a satisfying punchline. The film was met with tremendous applause at the end of the screening. 

The Cars that Ate Paris doesn’t go without any criticism though, with many audience members complaining that the film lacks purpose at times as Arthur wanders Paris for a good chunk of the runtime. The film can also be racist at times, with people wearing blackface to the town’s fancy dress dance. However, it could be argued that this racism is criticised by the film itself, as the partygoers scoff at the racist costumes.

The Cars that Ate Paris could be argued to be an exploitation film , with its over-the -op violence and wacky atmosphere. However, I feel that this description doesn’t really fit and instead see the film as an awkward comedy that occasionally takes itself seriously. 

As for the restoration, the images in The Cars the Ate Paris are now crystal-clear, improving shots that were not adequately lit and enhancing the sound of the actors’ dialogue (although some audience members said they still needed subtitles to understand the strong Australian accents). The restoration is not entirely perfect as some of the on-screen text is difficult to read against the brighter shots. 

However, The Cars that Ate Paris is now back where it belongs: on the big screen. The film opens with a spoof of advertisements that audiences might see in a cinema before the screen, filled with product placements and an overly happy couple driving through the sunny countryside.

Then suddenly, the perfect atmosphere stripped as the couple’s car loses a wheel and drives over a cliff, killing its passengers. It’s moments like these that show that The Cars that Ate Paris is made to be seen in a cinema, not on your couch.