Senna:
There's not much that I could say about this excellent, involving and gripping Bafta-winning documentary about one of the greatest F1 drivers in history, that you haven't already heard. Indeed, it does work (
very well in fact) for those without prior knowledge or interest in F1 racing, it does have a great rivalry at the heart of it between the eponymous racer and his main competitor Alain Prost, and it manages to sweep you up in the sheer thrill of speed with choice cuts of driver's seat footage which is frankly terrifyingly fast. What's more it lays bare some of the political maneuvering at the heart of the F1 world - points and strategy versus sheer heart and determination, obediance to the suits versus defending your dream.
The tragedy of Senna's death at Imola in 1994 is handled with poise; an appropriate amount of impending inevitability is afforded to the haunting footage of Senna's last corners speeding by, the deadly precise crash itself, and the words of the F1 Doctor and friend of Senna describing the man's final breath. Truly great documentaries open a niche world (
be they small or even relatively large) to the masses, allowing laymen to appreciate the events depicted on screen with the same sense of involvement as the impassioned followers of the subject at hand.
Senna most certainly achieves that goal.