What Drives Us

Play trailer

What Drives Us

2021

1h 28m

Documentary

Music

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

"What Drives Us" follows bands Radkey and Starcrawler as they take on the world, one town at a time, while also telling stories of the biggest artists in the music industry, recalling the romance and adventure, as well as the idiocy and chaos, of their own time on the road. The film explores the logistics of what it takes to turn a van into a home, and how the tricks of this trade have been handed down through the decades. There was a time before the digital age when this is how music and information made its way through the world. You had to take it to the people yourself and hope that word would spread like wildfire. While the world has changed, the rite of passage has not. There is no other way to know whether you can make it in this business. You have to get in the van.

Adam Graham

Detroit News

04/30/2021

C

"What Drives Us" lacks the focus of either of those projects and comes off like a carefree nostalgia ploy, warm but amorphous. For Grohl, it's just a joy ride.

Go to Full Review

Jochan Embley

London Evening Standard

04/30/2021

4/5

[F]or the most part, with lots of archive footage, the film feels more like old friends catching up about The Good Old Days than any great exploration of deep creative urges.

Go to Full Review

Erick Estrada

Cinegarage

08/03/2022

A warm look at Rock and Roll, and what it has given to the people... [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Leonie Cooper

NME (New Musical Express)

06/17/2021

4/5

It's when Grohl lets his subjects recall their strangest experiences while trucking from show to show that the whole thing properly chugs into life...

Go to Full Review

Alex Hudson

Exclaim!

05/26/2021

6/10

For touring indie musicians, it might be a little patronizing to hear these rock stars glorify their supposed struggles - the road is tough, my friends! - but it also clarifies Grohl's vision of a shared music community.

Go to Full Review

Lea Palmieri

Decider

05/10/2021

It's not often that a film can be filled with so much rock and still be totally touching.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Dave Grohl

Director

Henri Cash

Actor

Exene Cervenka

Actor

Arrow De Wilde

Actor

The Edge

Actor

Jennifer Finch

Actor

We Intend to Cause Havoc

83%

%

We Intend to Cause Havoc

Watchlist

TRAILER

for We Intend to Cause Havoc

A-ha: The Movie

81%

68%

A-ha: The Movie

Watchlist

Underplayed

100%

%

Underplayed

Watchlist

Fanny: The Right to Rock

100%

72%

Fanny: The Right to Rock

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Fanny: The Right to Rock

Dawn Raid

100%

%

Dawn Raid

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Dawn Raid

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

"What Drives Us" follows bands Radkey and Starcrawler as they take on the world, one town at a time, while also telling stories of the biggest artists in the music industry, recalling the romance and adventure, as well as the idiocy and chaos, of their own time on the road. The film explores the logistics of what it takes to turn a van into a home, and how the tricks of this trade have been handed down through the decades. There was a time before the digital age when this is how music and information made its way through the world. You had to take it to the people yourself and hope that word would spread like wildfire. While the world has changed, the rite of passage has not. There is no other way to know whether you can make it in this business. You have to get in the van.

Director: Dave Grohl
Production Co: Roswell Films
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 30, 2021
Runtime: 1h 28m