Crossing Europe: „DRIFTER“ (Filmreview)
„Drive Darling, drive Darling,…drive harder, faster, rogher, Babe!“ Rebellious racecar-fan Ricsi risks not only his own life, but also the consequences of it. A portrait of a rural Hungarian teenager with the big dream of becoming a famous racecar-Driver.
Fixing cars, watching porns with car-washing scenes, quitting school and stealing iron material for his self-work-project „a own racecar“. Every minute of thinking he puts into his big dream. To get effort out of it, Ricsi wants to be part of the Racecar-competition to show everybody, but mostly proofes to himself, to be a famous racecar-driver.
A sport, mostly for the rich people. Nevermind to Ricsi, whose family is poor. Struggling of family fights, hurts him deeply, even if he adores his father as role model very much. His dad´s advices of finishing professional mechanic school, to get a proper job and affort an own driver liscencse, Ricsi don´t give a lack of interest. It would need to much time and will give him less money, instead of working legal in the manufacture of his mum and illegally as car mechanic to afford the „expensive“ sport. Without thinking in long-term-consequences his quitting school for sure and thinks he´s a „free man“- the best of everything, but life serves first. To get money he steals iron material again from the power cable to sell it on the junk-yard. Police´s consequences and fines are following.
Cope with his problems he always tries to start up a new bondage-of trust to his dad, who´s not living with the family. Ricsis self-worth is going to the basement all the time, till he get it fixed by material desires. Up´s and Down´s are taking turns.
Finally his „Baby“ (=racecar) gets finished and he races his first race. The whole family and friends, also his new girlfriend, are coming to support his big dream. Everything seems to become a Happy End. Dissappointed by his lost of the competition, he´s getting the „looser“ status labeled again. Luckily his family supports him emotionally, so he gets a job as mechanic professional in a firm. Ricsi´s life is like a big rollercoaster, so everytime he´s up in one moment, the next moment everything´s falling apart. His new girlfriend is expecting a baby girl too. So he´s proud to be a responsible father – few month later they get break up, the film ends.
About 5 years Hungarian filmmaker GABOR HÖRCHER, documented Ricsi´s life and supported him also financially. Not always easy to catch up with Ricsi. Nevertheless the filmmaker did a really well-done portrait of a crazy, risky, authentic teenage guy, who is hardly to get in the way of thinking of his consequences, but still lovely in his charme.