Senna

This documentary shows Ayrton as a god like genius that could do no wrong. Rubbish. I watched F1 back then. He was a great driver but he had his faults as a lot of "great" drivers have. He would do all he could to achieve his aims. He would take very big risks, he would take another driver out to achieve the win. Prost was portrayed in this as the bad guy in this, he wasn't, although he was just as bad. No mention of Monaco '88 where he crashed on his own. This documentary has some great interviews and footage but if you want to see the true Ayrton watch his races online, not this BS through rose tinted specs.

This film's style is as sublime as its protagonist, but that perhaps is its flaw. The film is more a piece of reverence for a man who attempted and accomplished, sublime performance, perhaps even something greater. This is where the director wants our minds, and he's not wrong for that, but then the film is more about him and his idea, than about Senna. I read up on Senna after seeing the film and while nothing shockingly contradictory was revealed, some of the human nuances that would have rounded out his character were left out of this narrative. Instead, all the story's conflict is external, and he, the victim. In truth, he did bring many problems on himself. He was a fierce competitor. There is no blame here, but the film just didn't show a flaw in the man, which we all know is unrealistic. It also romanticized the idea that because he was Brazilian, he had hardships making his way in the European-centric formula 1 world. Brazil, in fact, had many great drivers before Senna. Therefore, it was more convenient to twist things this way to the director's fantasy of life, than painting a more complex and flawed man in Senna. Without these issues, I would have voted 10. Still, beautiful film, beautiful human being.

As someone blessed to have witnessed the Senna Era, I found the film extremely disappointing the family footage was very grainy and in many instances didn't add much to the storyline. Very little footage was actually shown of his races, his pure genius as a driver seemed to become lost in the story line of politics and double dealing and while all of that was true and Ayrton was cheated out of several world titles I don't feel that the film did justice to his driving and the younger generations have missed out on something very special. Ayrton was the greatest driver formula has/will ever see and the film failed to to fully bring home the brilliance of the man and his career.

For me, this was an extremely emotional film. At the age of 10, Senna was my idol, and I was fortunate enough to be there to see him take his final victory. Reliving those moments on the big screen was a truly exhilarating (and tear-jerking) experience. I have consumed volumes of Senna-related material over the years, so to say that this film adds something substantive means a lot. Of course, the stories themselves won't be new to a lot of motor racing fans, but there is something delicious and comforting in the retelling of a beautiful fable. And the film makers are to be congratulated for paring a complex story down to its dramatic essentials, while maintaining the necessary context and without reducing it to a Hollywood narrative. They certainly did a much better job of conveying what Senna was to my girlfriend than I could ever do. The fact that she thoroughly enjoyed the film - and came out of it with a good understanding of many of the nuances of Senna's life - despite being ardently anti-racing speaks volumes. If I have any criticism, it is the lack of audio/visual sync up in many of the onboard shots. And in one shot there are audible gear changes when Senna is supposedly stuck in sixth gear. For the casual viewer these count for little, but for a racing connoisseur these mistakes are like nails on a chalkboard. It's hard to believe that the film was previewed by anyone with a deep understanding of motor sport. One could also criticize the film for telling only one side of a complex history (Senna's), but given the film's scope that is no fault at all in my opinion. All in all, this is a beautiful documentary. It is well-paced, with a perfect running time and wonderful score. I highly recommend it, to racing fans and film fans alike.