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redfiona99This is the film that distracted me from X-Men : First Class.
Although, you know, given that the main protagonists of both are two men brought together by talent and separated by entirely opposing world-views ...
One of the things I liked about the documentary is that they treated the viewers like grown ups. There wasn't a sign saying 'warning, we're a wee bit biased' they just got on with it and let us figure it out. Then again, I've never met anyone who achieved any semblance of balance on the matter. Because, much though the TV likes to build the F1 world championships up as battles between good and evil (with good mysteriously often being the Brit) but we all know that's lies. But, and this was the reason the whole Prost vs Senna thing got quite so heated, I think, I mean above and beyond them being stuck in the same team for a while, was that they had such different world views with one of them being very much an any means necessary to win the championship and the other one being driven by the need to win every race he ever took part in. Not to mention totally different driving styles, where one of them would do whatever he'd need to win safely, and one of them had to win everything by any means.
They started at an interesting point, with a young Senna. Although even back then he had that smile. Because, lets be honest, they could have titled it 'the boy with the Mona Lisa smile' and it would have been no less an accurate title.
If nothing else, and oh, given that I got to see racing on the big screen there is a lot more, it let me fall in love with Senna again. I mean, I remember him, in that sort of speeded up vague way of childhood memories, and him versus Prost is still the first thing I think of when I think of F1 but as I said it's all flashes.
I can see why people were complaining that it was a hagiography, except I don't think it is, because it makes it quite clear that he was absolutely impossible to live with, if you were involved in F1, and yet there was also a reason a lot of the people he worked with thought he was wonderful, which also comes through. As does Senna's talent, oh that Monaco race, that Brazilian GP, *that* race at Suzuka.
It's really interesting to see the times change, because at the start, I recognise the names of the cars and the names of the drivers but that's about it, and then as the years roll by I start to recognise the cars and the team owners. It's all 'hello, Eddie', and 'that's the back of Hakkinen's head,' and 'those shoulders belong to Flavio Briatore'.
Due to my age, I didn't realise exactly how bitter the '89 season got. And then the '90 season was never going to end any better.
Of course, the film has to move to it's inevitable conclusion, and give the film-makers their credit, they don't shy away from what happened. I was, well not pleased, wrong word entirely, but they gave Roland Ratzenberger a voice. He does tend to be rather forgotten in the whole mess. The only reason I knew anything of him was that he was one of the other Austrians, and I cheered for them just because they were. But I'd never heard him speak, or I certainly don't remember it if I did, and suddenly he had a voice and a face and he was making jokes, because the Symtek car, which was one of the more alleged cars in a time rife with them, was not steering well and he'd a prang in the first practise session, the one where Rubens had his terrible off, and one of his (Ratzenberger's) pit crew said 'you're really throwing it round out there', and he laughed, and oh. Suddenly he's not just a name anymore.
They showed the start of the race, and I thought, no, can we stop it here. I don't want this to happen again.
The race unfolded, exactly how I remember it, and they showed the accident and what followed, and I'm not sure what was worse, Sid Watkin's description (I have a book by him from the last time I was in Leicester, I shall have to get around to reading it.) or the shot that followed of Frank Williams's reaction. He's such an unemotional chap most of the time, and not the greatest fan of drivers, because they're unpredictable and they mess up his machines and he looked so upset.
The whole film had put Senna into context of what Brazil was going through at the time and how he was important precisely because he was stridently Brazilian at a time when it wasn't the done thing, and it made the massive outpouring of grief make more sense. Not that I can say anything because both at the time and while watching, I was in tears. I think it was, at least in part, because Senna finally seemed to have something in his life other than racing and was looking forward to his life after racing.
What makes it worse was seeing his mother, especially since the second or third scene in the documentary was an interview with her when he was just starting out, and she talked about how scared she was every time he got into a racing car.
The ending was very simple, two black screens, the first saying that Senna's sister had set up the charity he'd wanted to found, and the second said that Prost was one of the trustees. Which makes such sense, because apparently they'd started talking to each other again. That was the other thing, they could have stuck up a sign saying, "warning, we're going to be very mean about Prost, don't worry, he's going to be mean back" and yet, they manage to convey that he's a very charismatic man, and a brilliant driver with brains and a knowledge of the rules, as opposed to Senna who was tremendously charismatic man and a brilliant driver but sadly lacking in cunning.
If nothing else, I got to see Senna in his pomp for a couple of hours, and that's more than worth it.
Although, you know, given that the main protagonists of both are two men brought together by talent and separated by entirely opposing world-views ...
One of the things I liked about the documentary is that they treated the viewers like grown ups. There wasn't a sign saying 'warning, we're a wee bit biased' they just got on with it and let us figure it out. Then again, I've never met anyone who achieved any semblance of balance on the matter. Because, much though the TV likes to build the F1 world championships up as battles between good and evil (with good mysteriously often being the Brit) but we all know that's lies. But, and this was the reason the whole Prost vs Senna thing got quite so heated, I think, I mean above and beyond them being stuck in the same team for a while, was that they had such different world views with one of them being very much an any means necessary to win the championship and the other one being driven by the need to win every race he ever took part in. Not to mention totally different driving styles, where one of them would do whatever he'd need to win safely, and one of them had to win everything by any means.
They started at an interesting point, with a young Senna. Although even back then he had that smile. Because, lets be honest, they could have titled it 'the boy with the Mona Lisa smile' and it would have been no less an accurate title.
If nothing else, and oh, given that I got to see racing on the big screen there is a lot more, it let me fall in love with Senna again. I mean, I remember him, in that sort of speeded up vague way of childhood memories, and him versus Prost is still the first thing I think of when I think of F1 but as I said it's all flashes.
I can see why people were complaining that it was a hagiography, except I don't think it is, because it makes it quite clear that he was absolutely impossible to live with, if you were involved in F1, and yet there was also a reason a lot of the people he worked with thought he was wonderful, which also comes through. As does Senna's talent, oh that Monaco race, that Brazilian GP, *that* race at Suzuka.
It's really interesting to see the times change, because at the start, I recognise the names of the cars and the names of the drivers but that's about it, and then as the years roll by I start to recognise the cars and the team owners. It's all 'hello, Eddie', and 'that's the back of Hakkinen's head,' and 'those shoulders belong to Flavio Briatore'.
Due to my age, I didn't realise exactly how bitter the '89 season got. And then the '90 season was never going to end any better.
Of course, the film has to move to it's inevitable conclusion, and give the film-makers their credit, they don't shy away from what happened. I was, well not pleased, wrong word entirely, but they gave Roland Ratzenberger a voice. He does tend to be rather forgotten in the whole mess. The only reason I knew anything of him was that he was one of the other Austrians, and I cheered for them just because they were. But I'd never heard him speak, or I certainly don't remember it if I did, and suddenly he had a voice and a face and he was making jokes, because the Symtek car, which was one of the more alleged cars in a time rife with them, was not steering well and he'd a prang in the first practise session, the one where Rubens had his terrible off, and one of his (Ratzenberger's) pit crew said 'you're really throwing it round out there', and he laughed, and oh. Suddenly he's not just a name anymore.
They showed the start of the race, and I thought, no, can we stop it here. I don't want this to happen again.
The race unfolded, exactly how I remember it, and they showed the accident and what followed, and I'm not sure what was worse, Sid Watkin's description (I have a book by him from the last time I was in Leicester, I shall have to get around to reading it.) or the shot that followed of Frank Williams's reaction. He's such an unemotional chap most of the time, and not the greatest fan of drivers, because they're unpredictable and they mess up his machines and he looked so upset.
The whole film had put Senna into context of what Brazil was going through at the time and how he was important precisely because he was stridently Brazilian at a time when it wasn't the done thing, and it made the massive outpouring of grief make more sense. Not that I can say anything because both at the time and while watching, I was in tears. I think it was, at least in part, because Senna finally seemed to have something in his life other than racing and was looking forward to his life after racing.
What makes it worse was seeing his mother, especially since the second or third scene in the documentary was an interview with her when he was just starting out, and she talked about how scared she was every time he got into a racing car.
The ending was very simple, two black screens, the first saying that Senna's sister had set up the charity he'd wanted to found, and the second said that Prost was one of the trustees. Which makes such sense, because apparently they'd started talking to each other again. That was the other thing, they could have stuck up a sign saying, "warning, we're going to be very mean about Prost, don't worry, he's going to be mean back" and yet, they manage to convey that he's a very charismatic man, and a brilliant driver with brains and a knowledge of the rules, as opposed to Senna who was tremendously charismatic man and a brilliant driver but sadly lacking in cunning.
If nothing else, I got to see Senna in his pomp for a couple of hours, and that's more than worth it.
