FILM: SENNA – SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL SERIES – IRISH CORRESPONDENT

Posted by Dermot Keogh on Jun 30, 2011 in Festival, Film, Reviews | 4 comments

Review By Dermot Keogh

Director: Asif Kapadia

Cast: Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Ron Dennis, Frank Williams, Jackie Stewart, Sid Watkins, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Nelson Piquet.

 

Rating: * * * * *

 

Synopsis:

Spanning his years as a Formula One racing driver from 1984 to his untimely death a decade later, SENNA explores the life and work of the triple world champion, his physical and spiritual achievements on the track, his quest for perfection and the mythical status he has since attained.

Directed by Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, Far North), the film is written by Manish Pandey and produced by James Gay-Rees (Exit Through The Giftshop), Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner with Kevin Macdonald (Touching The Void, The Last King of Scotland, State of Play, Eagle) and Manish Pandey serving as executive producers.

The film has been made with the full co-operation of the family of Ayrton Senna, who have given permission for this to be the first documentary feature film about his life; Formula One Management, who have provided footage not previously seen theatrically; and the Ayrton Senna Institute, the charitable foundation established after his death which provides educational opportunities to millions of deprived Brazilian children.

 

Review:

“By being a racing driver you run the risks all the time. By being a racing driver that means that you are racing with other people and if you no longer go for a gap that exists then you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, competing to win. The main motivation for all of us is to compete for a victory. Not to come second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth”. (Ayrton Senna)

 

From the opening shots of SENNA you know that what lies ahead of you is going to be an emotional rollercoaster. Documentaries can fall into a grey area on two counts. The first is when the person they are about is no longer around to defend him or herself against possible malicious remarks. The second is when the film maker is hell bent on getting their opinion out regardless of the evidence on hand and spin an interesting yarn as opposed to an educated account.  MICHAEL MOORE seems to have the market corned on the later so I am thankful that he has no influence in the making of this.

The career of AYRTON SENNA is legendary. Whether it was his unbelievable skill behind the wheel of an F1 car, his ongoing rivalry with one time team mate Alain Prost that dragged in millions of viewers or his humanitarian work for his beloved Brazil, the achievements accomplished by him are amazing. This film documents his rise in FORMULA 1 from his entry via the TOLEMAN team through his very successful McLAREN years and then his final F1 year with WILLIAMS. Charting his life on and off the track the film makes no bones about show-boating the skills of SENNA including his controversial first MONACO win and his emotionally charged BRAZILIAN win in 1991. Personally for SENNA this was the highlight of his career. He was barely even to hold up his trophy as he had to finish the last laps of the race in 6^th gear which in turn caused him to faint due to muscular strains. He wanted to win not for him but for the people. Over 300,000 crammed into INTERLAGOS singing “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole – Senna, Senna”. Witnesses on the circuit said they had never heard anything like it before as the crowd drowned out the sound of the engines. Senna was a national hero to the Brazilian population who had just come out of a long period of military rule. The country was in pain and the time for a bright shining light to emerge from darkness was on hand. That light was AYRTON SENNA.

Director ASIF KAPADIA has compiled what can only be described as a sporting documentary masterpiece from over 15,000 hours of footage and will appeal to anyone who just appreciates good cinema. You don’t have to be a motorsports fan to appreciate this. The footage used is superb and meaningful. The inside car footage is spectacular. SENNA really had no fear.  From the interviews shown you can see the emotion in people’s faces and hear it in their voices as they speak about their friend with joy and sadness.  The film runs smoothly and shows footage that would probably be not be available these days to make a similar documentary on another driver. The footage is real, not staged like several documentary films out there. The film builds slowly by letting the viewer get to know SENNA the man and the then SENNA the legend. His emotion and passion for the sport including the safety and well being of those around him is nothing short of beautiful and gracious. Viewing some of the race footage I found myself on several occasions in complete awe of what I was seeing. His talent was unsurpassed and he knew it. That is why he used to get so upset when he lost. The interviews with his colleges, fiends and ALAIN PROST bridge the gaps between footage and really give you an insight to what was going on at the time. The nail biting in car footage that is used just shows the speed of these cars and how scary it can be. For the car to be driven the way it was by SENNA is nothing short of miraculous.

In the film a Brazilian lady best describes the impact of SENNA on the lives of the Brazilian people:

“Brazilians need food, health, education and a little joy. The joy has been removed.”

The film is a poignant tribute to greatest F1 driver that ever sat behind the wheel of a race car. To emerge from this profound piece of cinema unmoved is virtually impossible.