6.4/10
Senior Film Conservator

A definitive 6.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. We Drivers remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have an obsession with 1930s industrial propaganda or just want to see how early automakers tried to parent their customers, go for it. If you’re looking for a coherent story, steer clear. This isn't a movie you watch for the plot; it's a fever dream about lane discipline.
The whole thing feels like a strange fever dream. One minute you're watching a guy drive a car that looks like a toaster on wheels, and the next, there are cartoon sprites arguing about braking distances. It’s definitely not Men in White when it comes to narrative stakes, but it has a weird, frantic energy that’s hard to ignore.
The guy in the car has these two little entities whispering in his ears. It’s supposed to be a metaphor for good and bad decisions, but it just feels like the poor driver is losing his mind. I found myself wishing the film would just focus on the road instead of the weird, high-pitched bickering. It makes me miss the straightforward approach of something like Carry On! where things actually happen at a human pace.
There’s a moment where the car almost clips a pedestrian, and the editing just… skips. It’s like the film editor got bored and decided to cut out the tension entirely. Maybe they thought safety was too boring to film properly? It reminded me a bit of the pacing issues in Pension Mimosas, though at least that film had a decent hotel setting to lean on.
Honestly, the best part is seeing the old cars. There is something satisfying about the solid, heavy clunk of those doors. Everything else is just noise and finger-wagging about not passing on hills. Don't pass on hills. We get it, GM. We get it. 🚗
It’s not quite as charming as Hooray for Love, but it’s definitely a time capsule. If you’re a fan of weird, forgotten media, this is your holy grail. For everyone else, it’s just a long lecture from a ghost living on a driver’s shoulder. Sometimes, the movie feels like it’s trying way too hard to scare you into being a nice person, but I was just distracted by the bizarre 1930s fashion on display.
I wouldn't call this a 'must-watch' by any stretch. But it’s definitely something you watch once and talk about for weeks because of how bafflingly specific the advice is. It’s like a PSA for people who have never sat in a vehicle before. Strange, stiff, and strangely memorable. 🏁

IMDb 6.5
1932
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