Senna (Universal Pictures) the first documentary feature from British director Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, Far North) remains, like the man at its center, a seductive enigma. Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian Formula One driver who amassed three world championships before his death at age 34, appears in the film as an abstract ideal of the athlete. He's driven by the sheer love of speed, and a desire to win so pure it's like animal instinct. Though the film immerses us in the details of Senna's life and the world of Formula One for 104 thrilling minutes, we leave still wondering both who Senna was and how Formula One racing works. The first of these two things is ultimately unknowable, now that the man is no longer here to tell us. The second, on the other hand, is eminently knowable and something the movie could have done a better job of explaining.
Senna may leave the non-racing-fan viewer craving a primer in this sport's rules and culture, but it excels at immersing us in the sensations of racing—at times placing us right inside the car with the driver during a race. This sleek, narration-free documentary hurtles elegantly through the last few years of Senna's life—the years of his peak career wins, his most excruciating losses, and his legendary rivalry with the French driver Alain Prost.
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