[Films] Sports documentary films

The last couple of years has seen a sharp increase in the number of films of a genre that I'm going to refer to as 'sports docu-film'. These are feature-length documentaries following either a particular sporting event from the perspective of a team or individual competitor, or following a particular sports-person through their career. Such features have typically been the domain of television, and where they have existed they have been very much focused on the documentary style, with a dry, 'facts-only' presentation style. The more recent style has tended more towards cinematography and the desire to tell a compelling story, with more emotional content. As such they fit much better into a cinematic setting than the more traditional version. The film "Senna" is probably the best known example of the genre, certainly amongst the general populace, owing to its relatively wide release thanks to the high profile of both Formula 1, and the legacy of Aryton Senna himself. But it was not the first film in the genre, and certainly won't be the last. 

Recently I've watched three examples of sports docu-films, and I'd like to share some thoughts on them.

Truth in 24 II: Every second counts

The original "Truth in 24" was perhaps the instigator of the trend in sports docu-films. Focusing on the Audi team at the 2008 Le Mans 24 hours, it followed the their bid to win a record 5th straight race. I've not seen the original, but have hear a lot of great things about it through Radio Le Mans and the Midweek Motorsport podcast and collective. Undoubtedly these are somewhat biased sources, particularly when it comes to the subject of Audi, but they have generally been good guides for motorsport related media. When I saw the sequel freely available on iTunes, I decided that I should watch it. I have to say, I was a little bit underwhelmed.

(Credit: autoblog.com)

Truth in 24 II focuses on the 2011 Le Mans 24hr race, which was a remarkable one. Two nasty accidents for Audi left their lone remaining contender to take on the full strength, three car Peugeot team. Audi emerged victorious after a hard-fought, very close race. By itself it's an exciting story to  a fan of endurance racing, and I was looking forward to getting some insight into the people behind the success, as that was what I was expecting from what I'd heard of the original film. Perhaps it was because I'm already familiar with the story of the race, having listened to it in full and watched the DVD highlights of the race, but there wasn't much new in the film. That's not to say that there was nothing new; on the contrary, I learnt a couple of things about Audi's strategic decisions and the circumstances surrounding them that I wasn't previously aware of. But there were also throwaway references to other decisions that were made, with no discussion of the thinking behind them. That was rather frustrating.

There was also, to me, a lack of personality to the film. There were plenty of drivers and team members providing their input, but it was all a bit soulless and had clearly been through the PR machine. I wanted to find out more about these people and what makes them tick, but what I got was essentially a potted highlights package with occasional talking heads that focused a bit too much on the cars and race, rather than the people. I can get that elsewhere. It wasn't bad per se, just a bit bland and rather short.

The three Audi R18s before the race. Only the number 2 car would survive. (Credit: auto-kinesis.com)

TT: Closer to the Edge

This docu-film about the 2010 Ilse of Man TT (which I actually saw first, a couple of months ago) was almost the opposite to Truth in 24 II. Focusing in the main on a single rider, Guy Martin, and his quest to win his first race at the TT, it was full of emotion, drama, and excellent cinematography. Other characters do pop up in the talking head role, but they are definitely secondary characters to Guy Martin's leading man.

The slogans on this poster are just perfect. (Credit: heyuguys.co.uk)

The cinematography in this film is nothing short of stunning. The scenery on the Ilse of Man is rather good under normal conditions, but when filmed with an eye to beauty it really is very pretty. This film was designed to work in 3D, and you can tell. There are several shots that just scream 3D effect at you, which is a little odd when watching in 2D as I did but doesn't detract from the spectacle too much. Unfortunately much of that footage has also clearly been filmed afterwards, as the colour palette is very different to the race footage, there are no other bikes around, the camera vehicle is tracking too closely to be on the course during the race, and Guy Martin is clearly not riding at full pelt. But the spectacle renders this a bit of a moot point.

The riders are also much more human than drivers in Truth in 24 II, and more entertaining to boot. They talk about their history, what got them into bikes, and why they go back to the TT despite the risks. Then there are the fans, and the family members, who also get to tell their side of the things. There's much more of a sense of story than in the Le Mans film, and it's also told in an engaging way. At one point there is a beautiful piece of foreshadowing, when a helicopter shot swoops around a corner on the edge of the mountain. Immediately I thought "someone's going to go over that"; sure enough, they did. And that perhaps is why this film is more engaging. In Truth in 24 you never feel that the drivers are in danger. Yes, there are two very large crashes, but I never felt a sense of peril. Perhaps that's a symptom of knowing the story in advance. But I think that part of it is cars vs. bikes. The latter always seem more dangerous, particularly at high speed.

A still from one of the non-racing scenes. Clearly designed for 3D viewing, these

scenes add a lot of eye candy to the film. (Credit: asphaltandrubber.com)

Ultimately that's the sad part of TT: Closer to the edge. There is death, and serious injury in it. But it adds to the film by making it seem more real, and more human. The film makers don't shy away from that death either, interviewing the riders wife about her feelings regarding the TT. They also spend a significant portion of the film discussing the dangers of the TT. It never becomes overbearing, but neither does it give it short thrift.

Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable film, and I would recommend it to any fan of motorsport, or of motorbikes. 

Chasing Legends

In contrast to the previously discussed films, Chasing Legends is not motorsport based. It deals with a much more physically gruelling event; the Tour de France. The film follows the Columbia HTC team through the 2009 event, chronically their ups and downs.

Mark Cavendish, of the HTC Coumbia Highroad team. A lot of the film deals with how

the team set him up for his stage wins on the Tour. (Credit: hundredtenpounds.wordpress.com)

This film had me hooked from start to finish, but I don't think it's as good as TT: Closer to the edge. There are a few reasons for that. Firstly, the Tour de France is a much bigger event, with several different ways of 'winning'. Unfortunately, the HTC team don't have anyone in their team able to challenge for the overall win, and instead focus on stage wins using their super-weapon, sprinter Mark Cavendish. That's all well and good, and the sprints add moments of high drama, but it means that the film lacks a complete story thread. There are several disparate elements to the film, which don't entirely work together, but all stand by themselves.

The stages that the film chooses to spend significant time on are those that Mark Cavendish has a chance at winning, or those in which team HTC members did particularly well. This obviously works well, but threatens to become a bit to self-congratulatory at times. This is neatly avoided though, by discussing the way that another team apparently goes to great lengths to deny and HTC team member the overall lead, and by talking about the the injuries and pain that the team members go through at various stages. There is also an element of risk in the film, but it's presented in a different fashion to the TT film. This time around it's more about pushing the body to the limits and beyond, and the physical and mental strength required for the Tour, which is far more appropriate for the sport of cycling. 

The film also offers interesting insight into the support staff for the riders, and what is needed for a professional cycling team to be successful. The importance of the chefs, mechanics, strategists and medical staff is brought to the fore at various points, and the individuals concerned offer interesting comments on what they bring to the team. Perhaps the best, and most prevalent sections, dealing with team members show the two team strategists in their chase car, and are quite funny. It's great to see the raw footage of them during the stages, as they figure out how best to win, argue over strategy, poke fun at each other, and celebrate success.

However as mentioned previously, some parts of the film just don't gel with the whole. Notably the historical discussions. Yes, it was very interesting to see a 97yr old previous winner of the Tour, look at his photos from the time, and hear his reminisces, but the relevance to the preceding section of the film was lost on me. Similarly the appearance of the photographer. Interesting, but it distracted from the narrative.

The Columbia HTC team lead the peloton, winding up Mark Cavendish for another stage win. (Credit: pelotonmagazine.com)

The soundtrack to the film is also very pompous and overblown, and much louder than the spoken sections, but somehow it works. Large swathes of the film show beautiful scenery from a range of helicopter viewpoints, with cyclists winding their way along the roads. Much like TT: Closer to the edge, the scenery and cinematography is stunning, and the orchestral score matches that.

In the end, I would rate this film slightly below TT: Closer to the edge, mostly owing to its slightly more piecemeal approach and confused storyline. But I would still highly recommend it, and think that perhaps it is slightly more generally accessible.