In the 1970s Japanese carmakers were fanning out across the globe, looking for markets that might be interested in their unique takes on the automobile. However, political tensions in the Middle East forced carmakers into a difficult choice. If they sold cars in Israel, the Arab League nations would boycott them in their far larger territory. Bigger companies like Toyota and Nissan didn’t want to jeopardize relationships with the Arab League nations, so they avoided Israel. Except Fuji Heavy Industries. And that is why the 2011 film that takes place on the Israel-Palestine border is called Pink Subaru.
Pink Subaru is the story of an Israeli chef who works in a sushi bar. After saving up for 20 years he decided to buy is dream car, a Subaru Legacy, as his sister’s wedding approaches. He intends to drive her to all her pre-wedding errands, but the night he brings his new car home, it’s stolen. He must then go on a quest to find the thief and get his car back. The film, described as as surreal comedy, ends up exploring life from both the Israeli and Palestinian sides.
As seen in the trailer, the movie is chock-full of Subarus, including a WRX, BRAT, Legacy, and more. This isn’t because of product placement. Despite its title, the film was not sponsored by Subaru in any way. Because of the aforementioned political situation, Subaru essentially cornered the Israeli market in the 1970s, before other Japanese carmakers were able to enter in the 1980s.
This Hagerty article details the many ways in which Subarus have pervaded Israeli culture. For example, the cars are so prevalent that people sarcastically say, “Meet you by the white Subaru,” to convey a lack of detail. There’s also a book titled To War in a Red Subaru. And according to the piece, Toyota pulled the GT86 from the market in Israel because it couldn’t compete with the BRZ.
Pink Subaru is a Japanese-Italian-Israeli co-production that uses the car as a jumping-off point about something much deeper. Is it any good? We have not seen it so we can’t really say. But it led us down a (Fuji) rabbit hole that we weren’t previously aware of and are now sharing with you.
