COOPER: Senna Documentary US Premiere

Formula 1

COOPER: Senna Documentary US Premiere

The Ayrton Senna documentary will surely do nothing but good for the sport Stateside in terms of getting people interested...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted January 24, 2011 Balen (BEL)

Ayrton Senna, driver of the #1 Honda Marlboro McLaren MP4-7A Honda 3.5 V12 during practice for the San Marino Grand Prix on 17th May 1992 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, San Marino. (Photo: Getty Images)

As you may already be aware, the Ayrton Senna documentary has now had its US premiere at the Sundance Festival in Utah. One of 12 films chosen for the foreign documentary section – from an entry of 796 – it made its mark just by being present.

It had already enjoyed rave reviews from motor sport journalists like myself who had been fortunate enough to catch it, in my case at a press screening in Sao Paulo before the Brazilian GP.

This week the big question was how it would be received by film fans and critics for whom it was just one of many drama and documentary films on view at Sundance. In other words folk who might have little or no interest in any kind of motor sport, never mind Grand Prix racing.

The outcome was important simply because their reaction could go some way to determining if and when the film gets a cinema release in the USA.

Let’s not forget that Senna is not a homemade effort. Director Asif Kapadia has made some acclaimed dramatic films, so he brings an understanding of narrative and pacing. The film carries the Universal logo, and also that of its UK associate Working Title, a production company whose lengthy corporate resume includes the likes of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Billy Elliot, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and Frost/Nixon, as well as a most of the Coen Brothers hits. These guys know how to sell a movie, that’s for sure.

Nevertheless, getting distribution for any documentary, especially one related to a subject matter that has a low profile in the USA, is never easy. So reviews (and awards) can help a lot. And the good news is that reaction has been better than the producers could have expected.

Hollywood regards the LA Times, Variety and the New York Times as the three publications that can go a long way to making or breaking any new movie. We are still waiting for the last-named, but reviews from the first two have been extremely good. Clearly their authors – who one assumes are not F1 specialists – have clearly got the message that this is a film about a remarkable human being, rather than ‘just’ a famous racing driver.

Today’s Variety story reads as follows: “A high-octane bio of one of auto racing's greatest figures, and a peak into the political pileup inside Formula One, Senna has the kinetic energy and tragic story arc to make it a winner,

Especially among NASCAR-loving regions of America. Universal's attachment gives this twisting, turning story the equivalent of a nitro injection, but a straightaway trip to cable, perhaps via ESPN, seems its fastest track to an audience.

Ayrton Senna adjusts the mirrors of the #1 Honda Marlboro McLaren MP4-6 Honda during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix on 23rd March 1991 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, Interlagos, Brazil. (Photo: Getty Images)

“Helmer Asif Kapadia employs only archival footage in telling the story of the charismatic Ayrton Senna, Brazil's national hero and a three-time Formula One world champ. Senna is pursued from his days as a teen go-cart racer, through his stint with the McLaren racing team -- where he and teammate Alan Prost engaged in a near-lethal rivalry -- through his tenure with Williams Renault, where his career hit its apex.

“Within the expertly edited archival construct, Kapadia maintains a respectful but less-than-adulatory view of Senna himself, and a caustic assessment of Formula One and its then-president Jean-Marie Balestre. Footage from an onboard camera thrillingly places the viewer in Senna's lap, and soberingly includes the accident that claimed his life.”

Earlier, the LA Times had said the following: “Sometimes a documentary will unexpectedly reach out and grab you by the throat, not giving you a second to breathe. That's that way it was with Senna, which had its North American premiere Friday night in Sundance's world documentary competition.

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