Swedish Auto
Swedish Auto
| 27 June 2006 (USA)
Swedish Auto Trailers

Carter is a small-town mechanic who observes life from the shadows. When he discovers that a young woman is similarly watching him, he is compelled to confront a world that he has always avoided.

Reviews
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie
ScoobyWell Great visuals, story delivers no surprises
Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
SnoopyStyle Carter (Lukas Haas) is a quiet mechanic working with two other guys. Leroy (Lee Weaver) keeps trying to push him to do something while Bobby (Chris Williams) just pushes him around. He starts to spy on violinist Ann (Brianne Davis) but he finds that the waitress Darla (January Jones) is spying on him in turn. Darla is afraid of her mom's abusive boyfriend living with them while she can't leave her sick mom behind.This one takes awhile to get going. Lukas Haas is playing the quiet shy guy yet again. He is great in these types of roles. January Jones is giving off a little bit of damaged mystery. I think her role is better for a mousy youngster to play. She's trying to portray shy but she can't escape her model looks. She does her best but I never got a solid feel for their chemistry. It's a little awkward. This small indie is the debut of writer/director Derek Sieg. It has a quiet dreary moody style. It's slow and maybe a little too slow. It shows some potential from this new filmmaker. There is some better drama later in the second half but it doesn't push as hard as it could have. Tim De Zarn plays the mom's boyfriend. He should have had more time to menace Darla and her mom. It's a little too quiet and never truly takes off.
George Wright Swedish Auto is a movie I found in a used DVD store and I have no regrets about buying it. I will say that for many movie goers it is slow and somewhat introspective. However, I stuck with it because I found the character of Carter, played by Lucas Haas, to be genuine and sincere. Carter is a withdrawn young man but is no dead-end kid. He has some excellent qualities; he's a talented mechanic who applies himself to his job. Ironically, he lost his family in a devastating car accident. He reads, watches movies and shows ambition to move beyond his limited surroundings. The owner of the auto shop appreciates his work ethic and encourages him to get a car. Carter shows interest in a decrepit old automobile that he plans to bring it back to life, i.e. the Swedish auto. Carter, who has taken to stalking two young women, sees this as a way of breaking out of his rut and finding a soul-mate. The young women are opposites: one is a concert musician and the other a working class girl from a troubled family, who Carter takes under his wing. This presents Carter with a dilemma. This soon resolves itself and he moves on with his life. We are left with an ambiguous ending but life often is like that.
proletinchen If you wonder what to do on a rainy night, then this might be just right. It is a slow, calm love story about two small town lonely souls. She is a waitress in a diner, he is a mechanic. They both lost their way and don't know how to communicate with people anymore. She - because is being abused by her father, and he- because he lost his family in a car accident. Eventually they overcome their fear of trusting someone - they start actually talking about their lives and fears and realize you can only fall in love with someone you know. Watching your life from a distance isn't a good option. You have to start living it, even in small portions. This said, the movie has its pro's and contra's: Pro's: - It is not overwhelmingly romantic cliché kind of love story. The actors make their characters very believable. Plus, you can really feel for them. The script is actually not surprising, but that doesn't mean its bad. It seems sincerely enough to intrigue you. Contra's: - It is a bit slow on places. Plus, I am a girl and even I can tell you Lukas Haas doesn't know a thing about cars (and he is playing a car mechanic, I mean - its not like a rocket science. He should have prepared better). The other thing I didn't like was the ending- its kind of a very corny, unreal ending to a very realistic and pragmatic view of the life of those people. It seems to me they didn't know how to end it, so they chose the easy way- but it just doesn't fit the whole movie. This said, as a whole the movie is a good debut of the director, Lukas Haas shows one more time he is a very good actor with lot of potential (that's why I like most of his movies!)and January Jones is very very very believable. She doesn't overact, which often happens when a beautiful actress has to play some small town "normal" girl.
greg g I guess some people find these slow art flicks exciting. The sad downtrodden guy who can't seem to connect with anyone finally breaks out and finds out how to love. This film tries to do that, and fails miserably. First off I will say that the acting and cinematography are great, I just wish the story held up to the talent that was on the screen. When I heard that this was a new writer/director it didn't surprise me. The story lacks any immediacy until halfway through, and with this forward momentum virtually non-existent we are left watching Lukas Haas change tires and dig through car parts. At the end of the film (had I been able to stay awake), I am sure I could have tuned up my own Volvo.