The Bitcoin Car

The Bitcoin Car is an unabashedly surreal film but one that yokes itself sincerely to a straightforward narrative. It is feature-length, has great musical numbers by Victoria Sergeenko spaced throughout it, and is populated by very natural characters and performances. But behind these solid aspects, we have a story with the logic of a dream and visuals to match. However, where this could have been annoying and indulgent, Luktvasslimo stages things so well that no matter how insane it is, it remains tightly composed and buoyed by its interior logic.

The performances from the relative unknowns are great. Paus and Winther-Hansen are both very sweet and appealing. Farstad is manly and soulful as he wanders the landscape, searching for lost electrons. He is also no slouch musically when playing his accordion in his hot tub. Winther-Hansen sings pretty well, too, but her role is largely emblematic, with little dialogue to judge.

“The costumes are great.”

The costumes are great. Lukas’s jumper and woolen hat don’t change throughout The Bitcoin Car. Farstad’s orange boiler suit slowly undoes as the story progresses. Rita spends most of the runtime in a Christmas onesie. In fact, most of the cast have such creative costumes and looks that they become iconic (finally, a chance not to misuse that bloody word). They seem to have been rendered as cartoons in a similarly feisty fashion to Raising Arizona. There are no costume or production design credits, though, so I don’t know who to thank.

Luktvasslimo’s past work indicates that he is drawn to political topics. That’s a dangerous game these days, where you can lose half your audience at “Hello.” But he is a smart cookie, working at his themes carefully and seemingly without judgment. The noodling he does here on Bitcoin has the loose and natural feeling of somebody investigating something out of their curiosity, not because they have any axe to grind or points to score.

This is all a bit Lynchian, crazy, but rigorous. I find myself wondering where this director and his talented cohort will apply themselves next. I liked The Bitcoin Car, but it would be nice if his next movie were more Elephant Man than Eraserhead. Surrealism is fine, but it’s a niche taste nine days out of 10, and there is enough on display here of a sharpening dramatic talent that I would like to see more of it.

The Bitcoin Car screened at the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival.