Review of Senna (2010) by Martin I — 21 Jan 2013

As appealing as a documentary can be with mainly the use of archive footage, Senna is an engrossing biography for both non-F1 fans and Motorsport purists alike.

This story of Ayrton Senna could easily have focused on so many things; his rivalry with Alain Prost, his spats with F1 honcho's or on the tragedy that took his life. However, Asif Kaspadia's documentary encompasses all of these elements into a fascinating film that, at it's heart, shows the spiritual nature and underlying passion of arguably F1s greatest talent.

Some documentaries go purely for the talking-head approach or the follow-the-director-on-his-quest route; with each format usually providing good entertainment. Senna does neither of these, and plays out the great man's story with original archive footage as he lived it, including family home videos, with interview accompanying it over the top. What we are left with is a true sense of the era, the man under the helmet and a truer sense of his achievements from those who knew him best. Refreshing too is the fact that the director never feels the need to add his two-cents to history, instead allowing the viewer to form their own opinion of the driver.

Truly captivating, this should have been allowed entry into the "Best Documentary" category at the Oscars, however it didn't meet eligibility criteria. If it had, it would surely have won. One of the best mainstream documentaries of the decade, I hold it in as high esteem as Grizzly Man.

Recommended.