Directed
by Ryan Steven Green
Movie
Review by Greg Goodsell
Dave Torstenson is a cheerful, optimistic and admitted “ne’er do well”
who suddenly plots a nifty social experiment. Buying a broken down, rusted 1972
Volkswagen bus off the Internet auction site eBay for less than $800, he
pledges to take the vehicle – dubbed “The Croc” on Route 66 road trip all the
way to California. In the meantime, he will meet up with a merry band of Volkswagen
enthusiasts who will help him make his voyage. Enlisting the help of his
longtime slacker friend Charlie Pecoraro, Torstenson will have his exploits
filmed as part of a documentary intended to show the resilience of the human
spirit.
As expected, “the Croc” breaks down
repeatedly on the road, Charlie and Dave have to rely on the kindness of
strangers, both try to remain smiling in the face of adversity, the damn VW bus
breaks down again and again and again – finally, they find a kind soul in Tucumcari,
New Mexico to stow the bus for a while – and Dave leaves his friends, support group
and fellow VW fans in the lurch as he undertakes a worldwide globe-trotting
trip – over the NEXT FOUR YEARS! All sympathy for our protagonist flying out
the window, Torstenson DOES return to New Mexico do get the VW bus up and
running again – but by this point, few will care.
Circle
the Wagen is a happy, upbeat little project
that ultimately sinks due to the irresponsibility of Torstenson. At one time in
our nation’s past a popular slogan went “Don’t Trust Anyone over the Age of 30,”
when in fact, a truer proclamation would have been “Don’t Trust Anyone UNDER
the age of 30!” Youth is not only wasted on the young, the young in turn
largely waste everyone else’s time as a result. While the documentary – which utilizes
stop-motion animation and other eye candy tricks to keep the project motoring
along, there’s no getting around the fact that Torstenson is a world class flake. The world is full of bright-eyed,
bushy-tailed idealists who begin fun projects who then leave innocent bystanders
footing the bill. It’s amazing that a motel owner lets the young men park the
shabby, rusting bus, freshly decorated with a hippie mural on his property. Any
lesser being would have pushed the rusting hulk off a cliff after a year, let
alone four years!
Circle
the Wagen does also point out a certain
fetishized commodity among men and their cars. A VW bus is supposed to represent
youthful freedom and tooling down the open road. As the documentary ably points
out, an old, rusting hulk remains an old, rusting hulk – be it a sports car,
sedan or station wagon. There are lots of men, young and old, who dare not part
with their high school heaps as they symbolize their useful idealism. The
rationale behind this line of thinking is “If I scrap my Chevy van that hasn’t
run in 20 years, will all my youthful dreams die with it?” No, it will not.
To its credit, Circle the Wagen does highlight that many projects that Torstenson
has begun rarely bear fruit. This, in this reviewer’s opinion, reveals a
certain psychological weakness. “If I finish this – WHAT THEN?”
No surprise, Torstenson DOES
resurrect the VW bus and gets it to California – where, it is revealed in the ending
credits, is repurposed for something else entirely – but overall Circle the
Wagen glorifies flakiness. Above all else, the film calls to mind a certain
Internet meme that’s been making the rounds as of late. “If your dreams come
true – will you stop dreaming?”
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