Those who have been avid followers of Formula 1 are sure to know Ayrton Senna, considered one of the most charismatic drivers of this great sport. It was on 1 May 1994 that Senna died at the San Marino Grand Prix race that was held at Imola, Italy. Now, after 16 years, a documentary film has been made about his life. Experts as well as commoners hail this documentary as one of the greatest racing films ever produced. A few people opine that this documentary film is able to reach a wider audience than expected because it resembles the ancient Greek dramas.
The film has been entitled as "Senna" and its Director, Asif Kapadia, has cleverly used whatever archive footage that is available about this charismatic F1 driver. Of course, a few voice overs of journalists and Senna's family members have been used also. The Director has succeeded in making it into a visually poignant film for which he has used Senna's original footage from a few television interviews and racing images. Even many of Senna fans are surprised that the documentary film is able to reach even non-racing fans who are watching it with a great interest.
Perhaps, the fact that Senna lived for his beliefs and values may be the reason for the reach of this film. He was charismatic, very handsome and highly soft-spoken and these may also be the reasons for the popularity of the film. But, unfortunately, the very values and beliefs for which he lived his life, killed him.
A day before Senna's fateful accident and death during the race, Roland Ratzenberger, one of his fellow-drivers, met with an accident and died. Though Dr. Sid Watkins, the F1 doctor and also Senna's friend, suggested to him that he should also quit racing, Senna brushed the suggestion aside. It is true that he was in a state of shock due to the death of his fellow-driver. But, he preferred to go ahead and die for his love for racing and for the values he had been holding close to his heart.
A few connoisseurs of the film observe that the dramatic impact created by the documentary is due to the fierce competition and battle that was there between Senna and his contemporary F1 driver, Alain Prost. This French driver was also considered a titan of F1 racing during the same period. In fact, Prost became Senna's teammate at McLaren. They won all the races except only one during the season of 1988. The dramatic nature of the film was because the battle of supremacy between these two giants became quite vicious and they were engaged in a constant verbal duel even off the tracks also.
Close followers of F1 observed that Prost, nicknamed "The Professor," adopted a cerebral approach in his racing strategies. He adopted such an approach in his life also. On the other hand, Senna was more spiritual. He lived his life on instincts and believed his gut-feelings. The film unfortunately portrays Senna as a personification of all good virtues and Prost as a morally inferior person. But, the fact remains that the Director has succeeded in dramatizing the conflict between these two giants of F1 racing. Like all classic tragedies, this tragedy also touches the hearts of the millions of viewers of this documentary film.
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