Fast cars and a slow story
It's St Valentines and nothing more romantic than trotting off to the cinema, alone. A hard choice tonight as Priscilla's biopic just opened, hopefully it will be better than the recent Elvis biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann that gave a fraction of the real story. I'm going to the Ferrari film, but before I enter the cinema, I catch up with Mr E, who's an usher at the cinema, and we share a quick drink and chat about the new films that are showing. This film was produced with a budget of 95,000 million dollars, and in its first weeks of birth, it was a box office flop.
The Film
Although this film is based on historical facts and contains a lot of truth, it is not intended to be an accurate biopic about Enzo Ferrari. The opening scene shows Enzo in a vintage racing car, cruising through the idyllic Italian countryside as he was a racing driver. This film is set in 1957, in an impoverished country, where Mussolini ruled with an iron-hand from 1922 until 1943.
The film captures Ferrari's turmoil as his only son passed away from kidney failure, his company was on the verge of going bankrupt, and his mistress had just given birth to his other son, Piero, bringing him both happiness and anxiety. Years later, Piero as his only heir would inherit the Ferrari company. But at that particular moment in 1957, Enzo had to gamble everything to keep Ferrari alive, and decided to take part in the Mille Miglia race, which is an open-road motorsport of classical madness, covering about 1000 miles across the Gran Sasso d'italia, which takes approx 20 hours.
The racing scenes were from the perspective of the driver's seat, so the camera was placed inside the racing car, which was one of the best parts of this film, until the horrible accident... It was a tragedy, killing 9 people, 5 of whom were children. Enzo was charged with manslaughter, but the case was dismissed in 1961. This scene was too hard to even watch...
During a press conference, Adam Driver, who portrayed Enzo, was questioned about the aforementioned scene. He expressed his disapproval of the scene, describing it as harsh and cheesy, and even uttered the words “F**k you, next question.” That is an odd way to respond!
An interesting film, especially for those who enjoy cars.
Cast & Crew
Michael Mann has produced some outstanding work as a director. The films I have enjoyed include Heat, Miami Vice, Collateral, Ali, Blackhat, and The Last of the Mohicans, which is among my favourite films. His filmography encompasses genres such as thrillers, action-crime, horror, and biopics. I think this story wasn't well-developed and the movie was far too long. The scenes were dragged out and some CGI was used too much making some moments fake.
Actor Adam Driver was good, although as in, The House of Gucci, his accent was terrible. His character didn't appeal to me, and he didn't have much charisma.
Maybe Enzo was like that in person.
Enzo Ferrari's wife and joint partner in their business is played by Penelope Cruz. Her first scene seemed like something from one of Almodóvar's films, (Volver or Tacones) with fiery women shooting guns. My brother, a director, always said that Cruz works best when directed by Almodóvar. Probably true...She is always cast in the same parts.
Actress Shailene Woodley played the lover of Enzo. The chemistry between them was non- existent; they seemed like old friends. She is a talented actress, but her performance was flat due to the script.
The Goya Awards
I watched the Gala which are the Spanish equivalent to our BAFTA'S, and they are held yearly in different cities around Spain. I am thrilled that Javier Bayona, won every award for his great film, The Society of The Snow. Well done!
Jaime Martínez, who is the Mayor of Palma, attended this year's 38th edition, and proposed to host the 2025, Goya's in Palma, which would be remarkable...
This should be the objective of every political party, not solely the PP Party, as it is advantageous for business. Much to my dismay, a tragic event occurred hours before the Goya's, involving four Guardia Civil, (a police division) that were sent on a mission in a rubber dingy that was only fit for fishing crabs, to investigate drug dealers in Cádiz that had a supersonic 14-meter, latest model, speed boats. Firstly, the scum dealers ran rings around the dingy before ramming into them. Two officers were killed immediately, and another was injured, but died a few days later. A two-minute silence or mention in honour of these young men who had served their country was not observed by the Prime Minister of Spain, at the Goya's. I think that's all there is to say about this year's Gala. There wasn't a word spoken, nothing mentioned. This is shocking and disrespectful.