2. Senna (2010)

Along with movies, I am an avid sports fan. I follow Cricket, Football, Soccer, Basketball, Baseball, Auto-Racing, Olympics, Golf and Tennis to some extent. So when a documentary like ‘Senna’ comes along, it’s a dual treat! It’s about a legend of Formula 1 racing – Ayrton Senna. But you don’t have to follow Formula 1 or for that matter even know about the sport or the man to like this movie. It holds you from the first moment and never lets go. 

Cast and Crew:

Usually, biographical documentaries have narrators, interviews with the people involved and snippets of clips from the past. ‘Senna’ is different in the sense that he himself is narrating the story for most part. There are other people who help take us further inside the mind of Ayrton Senna. But they are never seen on screen telling incidents from the past. The documentary has archived footage to fill up the entire runtime of 1hr 45 min. We see Alain Prost – Senna’s primary competitor and Ron Dennis (his Manager at McLaren). Then we see his parents and hear from his sister. Finally we also see and hear from Senna’s close friend, Dr. Sid Watkins, an FIA doctor who worked closely with him.

Comments:

Senna is an honest film. We don’t have people narrating the protagonist’s heroic efforts nor glorifying the past. This is because we hear it from the actual personalities themselves. We hear Ayrton Senna talk about the pure unbridled joy derived from racing during his go-karting days. Unlike other features, there’s no need for unnecessary drama. Even if one is unaware of the fierce rivalry between Senna and Prost, the archival footage establishes it beyond any doubt. We also seethe dirty politics in Formula 1 and how Ayrton’s career was affected by it. There are a couple of scenes with the then FIA chief which reveal that even at the peak of his career, Ayrton Senna had to constantly fight the authority. It’s amazing how director Asif Kapadia managed to get all the footage (including the drivers meetings and his personal home videos) that he used for the film.

Personally, I would’ve loved to hear other drivers talk about Ayrton Senna, especially Michael Schumacher. Ayrton Senna was being followed by Schumacher on that fateful turn and it is well documented that Michael Schumacher is very sensitive about the subject. One can turn back to Monza in 2000 when he broke into tears during the press conference when the interviewer mentioned that he had tied Senna’s record of 41 GP wins.  

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Final Thoughts:

The highlights of the movie are its crisp editing, the archival footage and consistent, fast pace throughout. On the flip side, it does risk running a bit long. Also, a little bit of Senna’s life outside of Formula 1 would’ve been a welcome addition. Director Asif Kapadia has hit jackpot with this documentary. By directing this fast paced, edge-of-the-seat thriller documentary in keeping with the theme of the subject, he has ensured that there is never a dull moment. Ayrton Senna has just won countless new fans.