‘Petrolheads’ Locarno Review: A Bond Forged in Restlessness
A troubled young man with neurological disorders navigates addiction and instability, finding in a loyal friend a fragile anchor amid an increasingly chaotic life.
Martin’s life has been shaped by a series of setbacks. Adopted into a Danish family, he was diagnosed at a very young age with severe neurological conditions —autism and ADHD, among them— that have left him isolated, marginalized, somewhat volatile, and with a single overriding obsession: cars. That more difficult side of his life is balanced by something more positive: his friendship with Casper, another young man with (less severe) psychiatric issues, with whom he shares both a close bond and a passion for automobiles.
Petrolheads centers on that friendship, much of it unfolding in and around cars. Casper knows everything about them: he builds and rebuilds engines, drives them (Martin is only allowed to ride his bike), and serves as a loyal companion and attentive listener. Martin, meanwhile, develops an all-consuming fixation that becomes central to the film: acquiring a 1994 Honda Civic, a model he idolizes to the point of covering his room with posters of it. The search for that car becomes the narrative thread through which the film gradually reveals who they are—especially Martin.
But Martin’s life extends far beyond cars, and this Danish documentary directed by his brother slowly opens up to the more troubling aspects of his daily reality: drug use, accidents, financial irresponsibility, and a pattern of lies that repeatedly land him in serious trouble. His family loves and supports him, but nothing comes easily. In this context, Casper—whose own life remains more in the background—acts as a stabilizing force, a kind of emotional anchor.
More than anything else, this intimate and deeply personal documentary directed by Emil Langballe is a tribute to friendship—to what Casper represents in Martin’s life, and vice versa—and to the fragile support that helps him navigate his darkest and most chaotic moments. It’s a sensitive, generous, and above all empathetic film, one that stays close to its subjects without judging them, even at their most difficult. A simple film, and a profoundly human one.
