Review of Senna (2010) by Mark J — 16 Mar 2013

I'm no fan of Formula One but 'Senna' is one of those documentaries that draws you in and compels you to keep watching. It's a brilliant piece of documentary film-making. Composed entirely of archive footage, this is a very tightly edited and well-paced film which eschews talking heads interviews in favour of voice-over commentaries from friends, family, colleagues and Senna himself.

It's a style that works well and keeps us very much in the moment of Senna's life as it edges towards its inevitable conclusion. The last few days of Senna's life are filled with ominous events that foreshadow his own fate; Barichello's accident followed by Roland Ratzenberger's fatal crash just the day before Senna's, creates a sense of impending disaster and tragedy that we know cannot be stopped.

This is an intense piece of story-telling that gives a very distinctive view of events (usually in Senna's favour), but as an introduction to the life of Senna as well as providing a fascinating view of Formula One in the 1980s and early 1990s, this documentary can not be faulted.