Senna (2010) - This is for racing fans. The documentary follows the racing career of the great Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna through his tragic death at Imola in 1994. Senna put the world on notice from the moment he slid down into the cockpit of an F1 machine. Astoundingly fast, intensely competitive and brilliant in the rain Senna was beloved by fans (especially in his home country). At the same time he was something of an anomaly in the racing world being overtly religious and unapologetic about it. That faith led him to be far more direct and honest than is sometimes wise in the extremely political world of F1. His rivalry and crashes with the great French driver Alain Prost added to the drama. In the end result if Senna had a good car under him he could be virtually unbeatable.
Unfortunately in the final racing season of his life Senna did not have a good car. In fact the argument could be made that no one did. The previous season had seen the addition of many electronic driving aids that disturbed the competitive balance and removed some of the influence of the driver's skills from the race. The resulting cars were skittish and hard to handle. The San Marino Grand Prix was marred by a series of accidents. Young Brazilian driver Rubens Barichello had a tremendous shunt during qualifying, rookie driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed later in qualifying and then at the start of the race proper there was a spectacular accident on the grid when Pedro Lamy drove right up the back of JJ Lehto when Lehto's car stalled. Just 7 laps later Senna's Williams race car would fail to make the turn at the Tamburello curve and slam into a retaining wall.
The movie does a wonderful job of presenting all the sides of Ayrton Senna. His brilliance, his humility, his ruthlessness, his spirituality. Fans of Alain Prost may have reservations about the less than complimentary view of him. Formula One is filled with strong personalities and lots of politics. The movie itself makes great use of Senna family movies, in car footage and news coverage.
A split rating for this one.
Rating = **** Recommended (for the average viewer) ***** Gotta Own It (if you're a racing fan)
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