MovieChat Forums > Senna (2011) Discussion > A Jesus Christ story, but undoubtedly a ...

A Jesus Christ story, but undoubtedly a true one.

posted 13 years ago by thomas-147-89750
1 reply | jump to latest

I am still sceptical as to what should be the subject in this post. I will decide later on, maybe at the end of it.

I was just an early fan of formula 1, when I watched Ayrton Senna getting killed on live TV. I was only 13 years old and have been watching formula 1 ever after. I only had hints of what this man was but watching this documentary almost 20 years after, brought such clarity to me as very few other movies or documentaries have done.

I can see three main aspects in this film. The first is about formula 1 and how the world was around it back then. We can see a purity in TV coverage and all the footage. People seemed to be so true and original back then. The lies and emotions could not be hidden as they are hidden today and we can see this clearly during the part of the film, where it unravels the competitiveness level between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

The second aspect was clearly about the goodness of Ayrton Senna. This man was a good man like no other. He did not belong in that world, the character he showed was pure and untouched by all the lies and deception, the politics and interests as he would say. He would fall and rise again, because of his goodness and his strong spirit. It's something that nobody can describe with words, it's like the perseverance of good vs bad. This documentary has a lot of hope to offer, to any individual, to become the best he can be through being good, forgiving, loyal to himself. It clearly shows what it takes to do it, how to become the best you can be and endure into being that.

The third aspect is about death. I cried 2 times in this film both equally strong. The first one was when he raised the cup in Brasil. The second one was for his death. For some reason, those two moments where so deeply connected. In the first moment, he bared with the pain of raising the cup, to make everybody happy around him. At the moment of his death, he bared the sacrifice to show us that dying after a life like his, a good mans life, is ok. It's God. Ayrton Senna is another Jesus Christ story, with the difference that this time we can be certain that it happened.

[–] Marmadukebagelhole 12 years ago

Painfully holding up a trophy to signify that he had won a motor race, and the hundreds of thousands of pounds of prize money that goes with it, is not my idea of "sacrifice".

I loved Ayrton and I loved Alain. But they were just racing drivers. That's all. There was some degree of naivete in Ayrton, at the beginning of his career. But if you strive your whole life to compete in formula one then you've got to be aware of the politics. It has always been that way, more so when sponsorhip money came pouring in. I find the suggestion by the movie, and its acceptance by some fans, that Senna was a lamb thrown amongst wolves a bit creepy to be honest. You cannot be supremely, sometimes dangerously, competitive and be a saint. And Senna was no saint.

Anyway. The rivalry between Prost and Senna was, at the time great and not so great. Neither driver did themselves the credit they both deserve at times. The producers of this otherwise excellent doucmentary decided to characterise the relationship between them as good v bad. Makes history into a great story. It is not, however, a totally reliable document of what really happened. And Senna is/was not Christ.

@Twitzkrieg - Glasgow's FOREMOST authority