Journey to Le Mans

This has been lingering on my Netflix to-watch list and I finally got around to it. Being a bit of a car guy and racing fan, I sincerely wanted to like "Journey to Le Mans" (2014)

I didn't. It just did not do anything for me.

Being about a small privateer team, it already offers a unique perspective wholly different from "Truth in 24". Why oh why then does it try so hard to ape that nuts and bolts 'these are the facts laid bare' type of storytelling? Trying to do that with this team using far fewer filmmaking resources just doesn't work.

It's clear the filmmakers couldn't show up for every race meet, every practice, every team meeting and walk through-talk through. They haven't got the firepower. And yet they still try to pull off a story about building up to the big race using a patchwork of mostly generic laps and repetitive crew footage devoid of emotion. What is supposed to be the powerhouse and cache of Patrick Stewart and Tiff Needell end up being a crutch it leans on in order to patch up missing race/event coverage.

Such weaknesses needn't be deficiencies. If only more focus was put towards zeroing in on emotion. If only the filmmakers concentrated on the team principals' love for the sport, about what drives them, why they put in so much time money and effort towards racing. If only they showcased how they FEEL, then maybe we too, the audience, can feel. See: "Love The Beast" with Eric Bana.

Alas, I only came off feeling as though the filmmakers had done a disservice to the interviewees: They all come off as being boring storytellers. To interview someone is to ask them to tell a story. Unfortunately everyone seems to be the type to not expand on their feelings and motivations, who aren't open to talking about how they feel, and just would not open up about which part of their childhood influenced (and continues to influence) this desire, this drive towards victory in the rarefied field of Le Mans top finishers. I mean, there was this part about Simon Dolan being kicked out of school and then... I don't know, pursuing education on his own terms??? He's an accountant, which means his credentials are no joke, even if his education is unconventional and or self taught. Maybe the guy is a supreme autodidact, which means he has in him an amazing story, an amazing journey to share to the audience. Yet I barely got to know him. I had to read about him in another article just to fill in the blanks of "who is this man, and why should I be rooting for him to win?"

Being that I ended up knowing so little about his personality, his family life and how he is as a person, all I know is that he seems to be someone who I'd trust with money, an airline, and yes, a racing team.

But I would not anchor my story on him.

I know nothing about Le Mans so I had no preconceived ideas about what to expect from this.

To say I enjoyed it would be an understatement!

A fantastic insight into the event and what it takes to get there and to compete.

Some have said it was very one sided as it only followed one team, and that is correct, but that is what it was meant to be about anyway. Enjoy it for what it is. (Warning: TT3D is the same, so don't complain about that one when you see it!!!!)

What really made this a great watch though was the cinematography! Superb camera use, footage and techniques. Loved it!

If you're a racing fan, then I highly recommend this....

If you are a car guy skip on this film. The are so many repetitive scenes that it just makes you wonder who put this together. They show the same scene 6 times. How is that possible when you telling a story. The producer cuts from one angle to another and you don't really get to see or enjoy a slow motion shot and on top of that they put a sound effect that clearly doesn't belong but, to make it worse its the same sound effect they just used 3 minutes ago. Also they talk about crashes but fail to show you it and skip to a person talking about it. We want to see the whole scene. Don't tell us what and how it happened, SHOW US. It was poorly thought out and will just get us car guys angry. All you had to do was end the movie with the car going around La'Sarthe for a whole lap and we would of been happy.

Journey to Le Mans is a documentary presenting team Jota's quest to win Le Mans in the LMP2 division.

Much of the race footage is presented in slow motion, and the melodramatic soundtrack is unrelenting. These aspects betray the innate excitement of high-speed racing. The film doesn't even present a summary of the race in any desirable form. I have to believe an under-produced bland documentary would have been much more interesting.

What it does somewhat well is profile the drivers of team Jota. The raw footage is top-notch, alas the actual racing clips are very short.

My one word summary would be "boring", which is a very unfortunate description of the pinnacle of high-speed auto racing.

For me this was a film filled with childhood nostalgia, going to Le Mans with my Dad and watching him race. I think more than anything this captures the reality, the team spirit and drive of the individual man to win. It makes me sad to read comments about it being only about 'Jota' a small team - who wants to watch them? It is not misleading - read the synopsis, this film says exactly what it is, an inside story about a group of guys wanting to make it in the greatest race in the world. So it is OK for Audi to do it? What if it were Porsche? I think perhaps some have missed the point the filmmakers captured which is the authenticity of just a bunch of passionate chaps who take on the world. Surely THIS is inspiration beyond all else? Or perhaps it just let's an old guy think 'hey I could do that'. For me it is a ten out of ten.