RAVE - Senna

No, it's not a new Brazilian restaurant in the city. 

It's a not exactly delayed, but nevertheless several years after the fact documentary about the life and death of Brazilian Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna.

Maybe I shouldn't have expected any different, but it was a 90% male audience - exactly the opposite of a romantic comedy. It was clear from the F1 entourage on film that a high percentage of Senna's adoring fans were female, but perhaps that adoration didn't stretch to the USA in 2011.

Viewing film that was shot from the mid 80s to the mid 90s, it was startling to see how far technology has advanced, whether it's the quality of film, the speed of the cars, even the speed of pit stops.

Having followed F1 since I was a boy, I can't say I ever really liked Ayrton Senna. Experts - and this film - say he was the best racing driver who ever lived, but as he was always competing against my favorite drivers, my countrymen - Derek Warwick, Jonathan Palmer, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Martin Brundle, and more - that always got in the way of a rational comparison from me.

The film made a big deal of Senna's deep religious beliefs, so it was no surprise to learn he was a hypocrite (criticizing Alain Prost for always complaining about the deficiencies in his car whenever he didn't win, yet doing exactly the same when his Williams was "uncontrollable") and arrogant (failing to praise his contemporaries when asked who were his favorite competitors).

All in all a great movie about a great sport and a pretty damned good driver too.