So Konichiwa
as the locals say over here. I have just arrived in Japan J It truly is turning out to be the
holiday of a lifetime – but I’ll tell you one thing, getting out here is a bit
taxing. I am almost completely de-jetlagged at the moment but the actual flight
itself tired me infinitely more than the time difference. Well, what can I say,
I am an incurable fidget and sitting still for almost 20 hours is just… Agony.
Sleep wasn’t much of an option (I’m a bad sleeper at the best of times) so the
airline entertainment system was my best friend for the duration of the flight.
Especially since I found so many films that I desperately wanted to watch in
their archive. It was for this reason that when my friend asked me how my
flight went, my answer was “Not bad – the food was good and I watched 5 films!”
I mean the upshot of that was that I ended up sleeping a total of 2 hours but
hey… You know… Priorities… ;)
And one of
the films that impressed me the most was this one. The mix of adrenaline and
emotion was at a level that actually kept me awake and alert through the last
lap of my journey, at my most tired (needless to say I totally crashed and
burnt right afterwards). This is definitely one of the films I am rooting for
at this year’s awards. Here’s why.
Rush is the
true story of the intense rivalry between Formula 1 drivers John Hunt and Niki
Lauda. (Played respectively by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl). It is a
rivalry that will colour ‘70s Formula 1 racing for ever. The two men are vastly
dissimilar in all ways imaginable. John is a tall and handsome ladies’ man who
enjoys being the talented “big kid” on the race course, throwing all
responsibility and caution to the wind and winning over everyone he annoys by
his sheer drive and raw talent. Niki Lauda is the mirror opposite. The Austrian driver borders on the antisocial,
by his own admission looks like a rat and drives his entire team insane with
his extreme focus on every single little detail and perfectionism. He is,
however, as much of a genius on the race track as Hunt is… Or is he? That is
the question the two drivers strive to answer as they battle it out on the
track time after time… Their opposing personalities means that the clashes
continue both on and off the track and makes the driving even more
intense… But the real question is who
will win the coveted world championship? There can be only one…
Hand on
heart, I have never seen the point of Formula 1 (or 2 or 3 ) driving. I guess
it’s because I’m not the sporting type but cars driving round and around in a
circle… Meh… If you’re on the same page as me as far as sports and sporting
movies, go don’t knock this one just yet…
Because the actual fact is that it is really, really not just about the
driving. In fact the driving is almost just a side line. What really comes,
rather brilliantly to the forefront of this film is the analysis, on many
different levels, of the intense rivalry between Hunt and Lauda. I found it
very, very similar to the concept of the “worthy opponent” that one often finds
in tales from the far East. I mean, this is not to say the concept is not
present here in the West but it is not spoken about or analysed as much. Both
drivers are men of very great talent and relish the fact that the other
presents competition that they can truly get their teeth into. Each one is, for
the other, “the one to beat”, on the racing track they are almost in their own
little world, their own little race, just the two of them, while the other
drivers fight it out amongst themselves who gets third place and lower. The
clash of personalities just adds passion to the whole affair, intensifying the
rivalry and giving each one that many more reasons to want to beat the
other. Yes, in so many ways (but not a
sexual one, very obviously) it is almost like being in a relationship. I don’t
want to give you too many spoilers, but further down the line we see clear
signs that the relationship changes; what starts off as the two men very, very
clearly annoying each other to death ends up becoming something akin to sibling
rivalry. Towards each other, it is no holds barred. But if a third party tries
to attack one of them in any way, rivalry is put aside to form a joint front.
But do not
be fooled – or indeed alarmed- this is not some kind of Hollywood-ised “buddy
movie” where the two men end up “growing” together and becoming close friends
in the end. As this is real life, there is a substantial amount of pathos to
the ending of their story which I will leave you to discover. But I think this
adds to the beauty of the story really. Holywood fairy tales would have us
believe in one “explosion” of an event that remains focal and life changing for
ever. In real life, however, the great, the good the ugly and the beautiful
come, have their moment on the stage and move on, leaving their place to
something else. This is what makes life the beautiful, colourful tapestry it
actually is, as opposed to the tidy linear story that is infinitely more
practical for films. That tapestry is not always easy to describe or portray in
films but this is a very, very good effort. Definitely worth your time.
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