Film Review: Senna

Director: Asif Kapadia

Sometimes in sport somebody comes along that changes the face of that sport forever and in Formula One that man was Ayrton Senna who was tragically taken from us at Imola in 1994 during the San Marino Grand Prix. Asif Kapadia wanted to put a movie together to discuss his life and find out a lot more about the man behind the wheel. He was successful in gaining support from his family who were more than happy for his life to be shared with the millions of fans he gained over the years and they also added a huge amount in interviews that were used during the movie.

The legend Ayrton Senna

The great work by the whole production team in covering his life means we find out a lot about how much he loved Brazil and the work he did to improve the lives of people there. It also showed how this was reciprocated as the nation lived through him and celebrated with parties when he finally won the World Championship. The telling of the stories of these championships were won and lost is intriguing to watch even if you already know the exact outcome, it's moments like this that separate this documentary from many similar to it.

I would agree that this is a film that you can enjoy even if you aren't a Formula One fan and I was when I was growing up having lost interest since. Alain Prost was critical of the movie due to the portrayal of his relationship which he felt was how the media viewed them rather than how they actually felt about each other as drivers and people. This aside it's a fascinating journey to watch despite knowing what we have lost.

3.5/4 a great piece of work to the memory of one of the greatest ever drivers