Senna

People could be forgiven for not remembering Ayrton Senna De'Silva. Almost 20 years after his death, the true intricacies that embroiled his career and personal life have yet to be unraveled, however this movie does a hell of a job connecting the two in perfect harmony. A bitter sweet taste is left in the mouth of the viewer as they watch a film with subtle undertones of competitiveness and strong hues of emotion. A soulful film, you really find yourself unraveling the charisma and Jues De Vivre that is Senna.

From the offset of the movie you find yourself in a somewhat cheerful, unknowing state, as it lightly unravels his early career in Formula 1, whilst hinting at the precursors that led him there. The hard, pressing, and very tight competition of him against Proust is another aspect that the viewer will find to be nail biting, as you truly begin to see the emotional aspect of Senna open at this point. Thus, the ending could come to a heartbreak to someone who had never heard of Senna. But alas, the legacy that lasts, transcends all documentaries, and all books. For the truly afflicted car/racing fan such as myself, you feel torn, and yet very motivated to be the best you can be.

To the regular viewer, you feel emotionally attached to a man who affected the lives of millions positively in his home country of Brazil. A perfect mix of a movie, in which you can watch as either an auto-racing fan, or someone who has never heard of Senna; It delivers on a highly emotional level, surrounding you in the warmth that he brought to many.

It's true you know, you really don't have to be a fan of Motor Racing to enjoy, be fascinated by or touched by Senna. Much like Julian Temple's Sex Pistols music documentary encompassed the climate of the times, looked at the press and public reactions to something making waves in the entertainment world, so too Senna is dealing with more than a big name racing driver who tragically lost his life at Imola racing circuit in 1994. Director Asif Kapadi and his team have constructed an in depth and poignant picture that follows Ayrton Senna of Brazil from his humble Karting beginnings, right up to that fateful day on 1st May 94 when a country as one sank to its knees in mourning for the man who was their one joy in a country full of hurt and political confusion.

Ayrton was a genius in the rain.

On the driving/racing side the fascination comes from learning how Senna pushed himself to greatness, a very driven man who was never shy in coming forward. He challenged authority when needed and his on going career spat with Alain Prost often made the news for the wrong reasons, these are insightful and excellent splinters of the film. Incredible feats achieved in the car, like how he finally achieved one of his greatest ambitions, and won the Brazillian Grand Prix with a broken gear box stuck in 6th gear! Things he did seemed like magic to his millions of fans, very religious he felt very close to God, some of his driving had the air of a deity about it! Of course it's all building towards the tragedy, where it hits hard and even there there's a mysticism about proceedings. Foreboding warnings that came when Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed the day before Senna, the Brazillian's reaction unerringly prophetic.

He would take the car beyond its design capabilities.

It's not warts and all, Kapadi has said that the Senna family oversaw production and much of the maverick driver's persona has been smoothed over. It's also worth mentioning that it's no rags to riches story, Senna was no Slumdog about to become a Millionaire. But this is real, a real man with a real interesting story, a story strung together with real clips and real home footage, not some hack job where a number of people from the same field share their own thoughts on a star that no longer shines. The Blu-ray release offers both an extended cut and the theatrical release, the former contains an extra hour but nothing of significance is gained. That cut is probably more for die hard F1 fans. At 1hr 45m the theatrical cut does an exceptional job by always being compelling with not a dull moment in sight. Quite simply this is one of the best sports person documentaries out there. 9/10

Seventeen years after the passing of one of the greatest Formula 1 racing drivers of all time a documentary has been released that examines his ten-year career in the sport. Directed by Asif Kapadia ('Far North,' 'The Warrior') and produced by Universal and Working Title, 'Senna' shows the audience the untapped potential and brilliance of the Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, while also examining the rise of this shy, young Brazillian boy; from go-karting circuits to a televisual audience of millions. 'Senna' is as moving and touching, as it is interesting and captivating.

Born Ayrton Senna da Silva to wealthy middle-class parents in the Santana district of Sao Paulo, he always had a dream of becoming a racing driver and began by driving in the Karting World Championships until he was approached to join Formula 3 for the 1983 season and then Formula 1 for the following season. From his first controversial podium finish in the Monaco in Grand Prix in 1984, two things were born; an intense rivalry with the future French Formula 1 champion (and soon to be team-mate) Alain Prost and a desire to race, dominate and win which would see Senna not only claim three World Championships, but also lose his own life on the track.

Where Kapadia's 'Senna' documentary works is in its ability to appeal to wide array of audience members. For the fans of the Formula 1 racing there is a copious amount of footage documenting select races and the events taking place around his career. Rather than use cutaway segments to show various celebrities and sports men and women discuss their memories and recollections of Senna, Kapadia instead utilises a voice-over to accompany the archive images on-screen. By allowing the voice-over of the various people associated with Senna (most notable this consists of McLaren's team principal Ron Dennis, his mother, father and sister, F1 team Doctor Sid Watkins, and Brazilian commentator Reginaldo Leme) to supplement the footage, it both preserves he power of the on-screen image and provides the audience with additional information regarding the situation or event that is being presented.

While for the casual viewer who may only know of Ayrton Senna in passing, there is the psychological unravelling of a man trapped in a boy's body. Senna is shown not to be ignorant of the politics of Formula 1, but simply uninterested, he was always that middle-class boy from Brazil who only wanted to race, win and repeat. There is also an interesting inclusion of footage of Senna as a modern hero of the Brazilian people, he's shown as the racing driver who transcended the social and political problems of a nation on the edge of poverty and economic instability and provided them with ray of light and joy that was unfortunately extinguished on the 1st of May 1994. 'Senna' is a brilliant and moving examination of a rising sporting star caught up in the whirlwind of politics, rivalries and stardom, when all he wanted to do was race and win by any means necessary, not for the adulation of millions, but his love for sport so close to his heart.

First off, I have to say I'm an F1 fan, so take whatever You want from that. Senna has to be the best documentary ever made, It simply tells the story of the great man trough, Mostly. old TV footage. This brings back memory s of late night highlight shows of a race that happened hours before. Its Shocking to see the total unfairness of the sport at that time, Its trilling to see the racing. Its so sad to see senna's Last lap at Imola. Overall It's a peek into the life of one of the worlds greatest sportsmen, a wort's and all account of a good, but sometimes, flawed man. If for no other reason than seeing how well the old footage is spliced back together, Go and see Senna, You will not be disappointed.

This documentary is flawless, it's narrative perfect, it's thrilling, I could not imagine another way of depicting this awesome history. The soundtrack is great, the documentary flows in such a wonderful way, real drama, marvelous histories, some funny parts as well, it's life in it's beauty and it's true form.

We get to know so many things about the formula 1 politics and internal struggles at that period.

Memorable sentences from the documentary:

Senna: -¨Formula 1 is too much money, too much politics¨

Jean-Marie Balestre (FIA ex-President): -¨The best decision is my decision¨

It's so exciting to see the rivalry between Alain Prost and Senna, possibly one of the greatest duels on the history of sports. There are few movies/documentaries that I would give a ¨11¨ out of 10 and this is one, together with amazing documentary Bus 174, from José Padilha (the director of Elite Squad).

A documentary is good when is true to reality, and is awesome when is great to watch as ¨Senna¨ is, a perfect tribute to such a hero. The history of Senna is so inspiring, he is a true champion by all means, as a professional, and as a human being, that's way this is for sure a "must see movie".