Senna (film)
| Senna | |
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| Directed by | Asif Kapadia |
| Produced by | Tim Bevan Eric Fellner James Gay-Rees |
| Written by | Manish Pandey |
| Starring | Ayrton Senna Alain Prost Frank Williams Ron Dennis |
| Music by | Antonio Pinto |
| Cinematography | Jake Polonsky |
| Editing by | Chris King Gregers Sall |
| Studio | StudioCanal Working Title Films Midfield Films |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom France |
| Language | English Portuguese French Japanese |
| Box office | $11,856,854[1] |
Senna is a British 2010 documentary film that depicts the life and death of Brazilian motor-racing champion, Ayrton Senna, directed by Asif Kapadia.[2] The film was produced by StudioCanal, Working Title Films and Midfield Films, and was distributed by the parent company of the latter two production companies, Universal Pictures.
The film's narrative focuses on Senna's racing career in Formula One, from his debut in the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix to his death in an accident at San Marino in 1994, with particular emphasis on his rivalry with fellow driver Alain Prost. It relies primarily on archive racetrack footage and home video clips provided by the Senna family, rather than retrospective video interviews, and has no formal commentary.
Contents |
Story [edit]
The film begins with Senna's arrival into Formula One during the 1984 season, briefly covering his time at Toleman and Lotus before concentrating on his time with the British team McLaren – the association that brought his rise to global fame – and becoming a World Champion. The drama of this period of his career centers on his rivalry with his team mate Alain Prost, and his political struggles with the then head of FISA Jean-Marie Balestre, climaxing during the 1989 and 1990 seasons, when Senna and Prost were involved in controversial clashes which decided the drivers' world championship title, in 1989 for Prost and in 1990 for Senna.
The film conveys the increasingly complex dynamics and tumult that characterized Senna's years as world champion, his battle to improve his sport's safety, and his reactions as he witnesses accidents and eventually death of Austrian fellow-driver Roland Ratzenberger the day before his own. We see and hear through Senna's point of view that innovative computerization led in these years to the technological domination of the Williams cars, with Prost joining Williams and, in a fallout with Senna, refusing to be on a team with Senna any more. The documentary reaches its finale as Prost retires and Senna takes up a champion driver spot with Williams, the Grove-based team in 1994, just as Formula One rules change, disallowing computerization, and the Williams' cars undergo rapid reconfiguration that proves fatal. In the culminating weekend of his life, at the that year's San Marino Grand Prix, painful footage shows Senna under extreme stress, troubled and rightly so, as safety conditions reveal their weaknesses in one track accident after another over three consecutive days. We see Senna's anguish as Ratzenberger dies on April 30, building the film's tension along with Senna's and a sense of foreboding that almost predicts the fatal crash the very next day in which Senna will lose his life. The film concludes with the Senna family and his close friends from Formula One mourning his loss at his funeral.
Critical reception [edit]
Senna received critical acclaim from critics. The film has a 92% "certified fresh" rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 116 reviews, with the consensus: "Even for filmgoers who aren't racing fans, Senna offers heart-pounding thrills -- and heartbreaking emotion."[3] Dan Jolin of Empire Magazine gave the film 4 stars out of 5 and stated that it is "ambitiously constructed, deeply compelling, thrilling and in no way only for those who like watching cars drive in circles".[4] Daniel Sarath from the online blog Napier's News gave the film 5 stars and called it "a flawless work of cinema that showcases documentary filmmaking at its most exciting".[5] Alex Zane from The Sun gave the film 4 out of 5 and wrote that Senna is "fascinating and profoundly moving".[6] Steve Rose, writing in The Guardian, also gave the film a 4 out of 5, and praised the fact that "with so much recorded footage of Formula One available, it has been possible to fashion Senna's story as a live action drama rather than a posthumous documentary. We're not so much hearing what happened in the past as seeing it happen before our eyes."[7][8]
Alain Prost was highly critical of the film and its depiction of his relationship with Senna as he felt is did not adequately explore the way their relationship changed from rivals to friends in the final months of Senna's life.[9]
Accolades [edit]
| Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sundance Film Festival[10] | World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary | — | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Festival[11] | Audience Award for Best International Feature | — | Won |
| Melbourne International Film Festival [12] | People's Choice Awards for Best Documentary | — | Won |
| Adelaide Film Festival.[13][14] | Audience Award for Best Documentary | — | Won |
| BAFTA | Outstanding British Film | — | Nominated |
| Best Documentary | — | Won | |
| Best Editing | Gregers Sall, Chris King | Won |
Release [edit]
A special screening of Senna was held on October 7, 2010 at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix, at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan.[15] The official world première was held at the Cinemark Theatre in Sao Paulo, Brazil on November 3, 2010.[16] It was released in Brazil on 12 November 2010 and the UK on 3 June 2011.
Home media [edit]
In Japan and Brazil, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray discs on March 21 and 24, 2011, respectively. On October 11 it was released onto home media in the UK. The film is currently available on Netflix Instant, and was released on March 6, 2012 in the U.S.
Versions [edit]
Two versions of the film were released, one in cinemas, DVD, Netflix, iTunes and Blu-Ray disc and another only released in England in double-layered Blu-Ray disc, extending the length of the film with more interviews and insider information.
References [edit]
- ^ "Senna (2010)". The Numbers. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ^ "Racing Doc Senna Takes Banksy Indie Route: Opens Strong, Tries to Reel in Women". Indiewire.com.
- ^ "Senna". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
- ^ "Senna". empireonline.com. Empire Magazine. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
- ^ "Movie Review: Senna". napiersnews.com. Napiers News. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
- ^ Zane, Alex. "Ayrton story has all the right moves". thesun.co.uk (London). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
- ^ Rose, Steve (2011-06-03). "Senna - review". guardian.co.uk (London: The Guardian). Retrieved 2011-06-05.
- ^ Calkin, Jessamy (2011-05-20). "Senna: The Driver Who Lit Up Formula One". London: The Telegraph.
- ^ Collantine, Keith (12 July 2012). "Prost explains his objections to Senna film". F1 Fanatic (Keith Collantine). Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Award Screening Schedule". sundance.org. Sundance Institute. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
- ^ "2011 Winners". Lafilmfest.com. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
- ^ Yahoo.com[dead link]
- ^ Buckeridge, Julian. "Audience Awards Announced". Atthecinema.net. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
- ^ "Adelaide Film Festival". Adelaide Film Festival. 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
- ^ "Senna screened at Japanese Grand Prix". Working Title Films. 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
- ^ "Senna Premiere São Paulo Brazil". Working Title Films. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
External links [edit]
- Official website (English)
- Official website (Portuguese)
- Senna at the Internet Movie Database
- BAFTA presents Asif Kapadia on Senna recorded at Latitude Festival 2011
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by McLaren MP4-25 (F-duct) |
Autosport Pioneering and Innovation Award 2011 |
Succeeded by FIA medical team DeltaWing |
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