Senna

They showed the movie Senna at SXSW this year (2011). A friend of mine recommended it to me, saying it was an amazing documentary. I asked him what it was all about, and he just kinda stared at me. "You don't know who Senna was?" "No, I have no idea." "He was an F1 driver from Brazil." Not being an F1 junkie, I was kinda at a disadvantage, but said I would check it out. I asked my roomate (Krisp) about it. He said more than a few people insisted that Senna was the best F1 driver of all time, and that he was especially good in the rain. That certainly threw me for a loop, I had assumed everyone slowed or they stopped the races. Needless to say, Krisp procured an extended version of this movie - ~2:40.

I would go out on a limb and say this is easily one of the finest documentaries in existence. I went from not having a clue who this amazing person was to a total fan. Not only was he one of the finest drivers ever to enter a cockpit, he was every bit as good a person. After his passing, it was revealed he had given millions of dollars to help poverty, hunger, and education in his native Brazil. No one knew exactly what he had been doing until he was gone. He was also very passionate about safety for his fellow F1 drivers. His life ended at 34 in 1994, but his legacy lives on as a national hero of Brazil - his grave attracts more visitors yearly than JFK, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis combined. Three million Brazilians were out on the streets during his funeral procession in Sau Paolo.

Also of note is his rivalry with the Frenchman Prost, another legendary F1 driver. They drove each other to ridiculous heights, and the quiet animosity between the two in interviews and on the podium was palpable. They interview Prost quite a bit, and you can tell he still has very strong feelings about their rivalry. However, the day before Senna crashed, he sent a message to Prost saying something along the lines of - "Hey friend, I miss you." Prost had retired that year because he had no wish to be on a team with Senna. In the interview when he revealed this, the day one of his good friends died on the track, Prost was halted in his tracks. He could not believe that Senna's mind was on him at a tragic time like this, and he was touched. He breaks down in the interview, and you can see him struggle with various emotions - was he wrong about this man the whole time? He was certainly touched, and the events of the following day made the message even more poignant. Today Prost sits on the board of Senna's charity. He refused to speak about Senna until 4 years after his death, having served as a pallbearer at his funeral. He states that a part of himself died the day Senna did.

Needless to say, the few to zero people who read this should be encouraged to watch this amazing film.