Senna

The first film I saw this year at SXSW was “Senna.” Let me preface this by saying I have no interest in motor sports of any kind. They seem completely asinine to me. While I can appreciate the athleticism inherent in them, they just don’t appeal to me. I like basketball, case closed. The film was shown as a way of building buzz about the upcoming Formula 1 grand prix that will be held in Austin. Apparently, previous Formula 1 races were held on an Indy course (I have no idea what the distinction is), and for the first time there will be a proper Formula 1 course in the United States. Racing fans please feel free to correct all the errors I’m sure were made in this paragraph. Even though I may not like racing, I love movies so let’s get down to it.

“Senna” is a documentary about a Formula 1 driver who was arguably the Michael Jordan of his sport, Ayrton Senna. The documentary itself is presented in its entirety with found footage. No new footage at all was shot for the film. All new audio interviews are placed over existing footage. I can’t stress enough what an incredible feat that is. For the filmmaker to be able to comb through what surely was an inconceivable amount of racing footage to be able to find everything he needed to eloquently tell this incredible story, when it certainly is easier to just pick up a camera and shoot, it gives the film this powerful sense of credibility. The subject of the film, Senna himself, is a very charismatic figure. It is easy to see why he was so popular. But what you come away with at the end of the film is not only was he a very interesting man, but also probably the best driver the sport has ever seen.

The one criticism I have of what is an otherwise brilliant film, is that if you don’t know anything about racing you will miss some of its impact. That is to say, any person who is not well versed in motor sports will definitely have an appreciation for this film; it is not un-enjoyable for the average citizen. However, a racing fan will get a lot more out of this than a non racing fan, simply because they have an acute understanding of the sport. Here’s just one example. Senna raced an entire race in 6th gear. For all the racing fans out there who read that sentence you can understand how crazy that is. But for someone like me, I have no idea what that means. From the context of the film I could deduce it was something amazing, but certainly a racing fan has a better appreciation for such an achievement. Don’t let that scare you away though, this film is truly remarkable.