A young man who can hear what cars want creates a new way to build and care for cars. As these become more and more evolved, things take a turn for the humans in their lives.
Written by Sergio Oliveira, Renata Pinheiro, and Leo Pirata, with Pinheiro directing, King Car is a semi-futuristic take on where life on this planet is going and how some try to save the world while others try to find opportunities for themselves and how some from each group crossover. There is a lot in here that is meaningful, but some of it gets lost in the sex with cars and talking cars. The way these elements are included makes some sense within the universe, but the way it is used here can come off both as a great idea and a slightly off one. It’s hard to tell where the filmmaker was trying to go with it all in terms of style, which may be simply due to a disconnect between the material and this viewer.
While the story and how it develops has interesting points and some questionable ideas here and there, the acting is on point considering some of the actors have to speak with cars and one even has sex with a car (which while spoiler-y is not the point here). The cast including Okado do Canal, Jules Elting, Matheus Nachtergaele, Luciano Pedro Jr., Clara Pinheiro, and Tavinho Teixeira all do good work with some slight extravagances here and there that were clearly a wanted thing here. The cast works with the subject at hand quite well, unfraid to go all out for something that has a goal other than to surprise and shock. There is a message here and they are the ones to carry it so they perform at the best of their capacities.
The film here looks really good for the clearly lower budget it had to work with and this can be attributed to the cinematography by Fernando Lockett who frames the images and uses light in just the right way to give the film an elevated look. The editing by Quentin Delaroche works with this images and sequences in a way that keeps the film moving and gives it a rhythm that works great for the story.
King Car is interesting film where cars be seen as sentient and having feelings, something that brings up interesting discussions about taking cars out of everyday life or changing them for different ones. Of course, the film is about much more than cars and technology taking over, but also about what humans are willing to do to keep living, keep being valid and needed, and to keep the world functioning as pollution escalates and life needs to change.