a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

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.

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 Carter is a withdrawn young man but is no dead-end kid.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.

'Swedish Auto' opens with an excruciatingly slow camera pan across the yard of a Charlottesville auto-repair shop until the screen is filled with the image of a young man sitting in the rusting hulk of a vintage Volvo. This is Carter - a sensitive, greasy-haired loner who needs no further introduction because IMDb cognoscenti will have met his socially inept outsider cousins in numerous other Indie films. Carter's life follows a regular routine - he rises early in his humble abode beside the railroad tracks before heading off to his auto mechanic job. At lunch-break Carter frequents a diner where he gazes ardently at pertly demure waitress Darla, whom he lacks the courage to approach. Carter's eccentricities come into full bloom at dusk - after shutting up the workshop, he habitually stalks a beautiful young violinist from UVA's music school back to her apartment, and observes the girl's practice sessions until she retires for the night. Eventually Carter gets around to stalking Darla back to her own home, where his voyeuristic skills reveal she is being terrorized by her junkie mother's abusive boyfriend. In due course events conspire to break the ice for the shy twosome, and they subsequently embark on a lukewarm romance.Writer/director Derek Sieg struggles to keep his clichéd clunker on the road as Carter begins restoring the vintage Volvo to a gleaming ride fit for his oddball prince and waitress princess. Unfortunately, tedium and implausibility result in total engine seizure long before the film's road-trip conclusion with multiple loose ends fluttering in the slipstream. One suspects that flashing blue lights will shortly appear in 'Swedish Auto's' rear-view mirror, but happily that story is for another day.

I attended the East Coast premiere of "Swedish Auto" at the Woodstock Film Festival. I knew precious little about this film going in, and that's often best, because it means that one can be surprised but never disappointed. And what a sweet surprise this was. Carter (Lukas Haas) spends day after monotonous day as a mechanic in a local Swedish auto repair shop. Every 24 hours are the same, as are the faces which he sees from morning until night. Leroy (Lee Weaver) and his son Bobby (Chris Williams) run the shop. Darla (January Jones) serves up lunch at the local sandwich shop. And there's Ann (Brianne Davis), the gifted young violinist whom Carter stalks nightly. Hmm...was that a double take on your part? Well, perhaps "stalks" is a bit harsh, but there's really no other word for it. After all, Carter lives on the other side of the tracks (literally -- he has to step over them to get past his door) and fair maidens don't often cross his path. Meanwhile, Darla is secretly watching him in his nightly travels. This voyeuristic setup is the stuff of which mysteries are made. But this is far from it. Love triangle? Not quite. For this is truly an original film that has indie written all over it, in both style and substance, and has elements of drama and comedy and wonder and twists and turns galore. In short, life itself.If you love indies you'll smile as the opening credits roll. Shot in 1.85:1, you know this will be a character-driven film all the way. No widescreen pretensions here. Using mostly natural lighting and a grainy film stock, "Swedish Auto" has the look of a home movie, in only the most complimentary sense. The characters are always softly lit to allow the acting to shine through. The sweet violin-based score is just sparse enough, yet always just appropriate enough, to know when to stay out of the way. Dialogue is kept to a minimum, especially in the early character development. Those three elements force a focus on these young folks' faces, and so much of this script is told through Haas and Jones' incredibly expressive eyes. What a casting coup all around.As the characters become voyeurs, so do we, with the occasional hand-held shot. But this is a simple story at its heart, and needs no hi-tech, no special effects or whiz bang edits, no provocative camera angles so favored by many indie filmmakers. The Virginia countryside that serves as the setting is breathtaking, while the gritty, unhurried blue collar town in which the protagonists live and work reflects the unhurried nature of the film itself.It's hard to go wrong with these brilliant actors, in such carefully-chosen locations, with such a nuanced, emotional score, and Derek Sieg's story brings it all together. In the Q&A after the film, Sieg revealed that Jones was originally under consideration for Ann, the blonde of Carter's desires. But as Darla she is so at ease in the skin of the lost, lonely girl who just may need an equally lost, lonely boy to show her what love is. January Jones is someone to watch for. A true veteran just barely out of his 20's, Haas is well-known to most film-goers. From his stunning performance at the tender age of 8 in "Witness" to his gritty portrayal of Buzz in the upcoming "Alpha Dog" (I saw it at Sundance and it's not to be missed) Haas has firmly planted his flag on the landscape of American cinema and his brilliant performance here shouldn't surprise those who've seen his work. If you haven't, he will hook you and reel you in. Derek Sieg's "Swedish Auto" is a sweet little gem, a delightful surprise that warmed my heart as it will yours.