The World's Fastest Indian

I saw this film on a plane - I know, I know, the worst place to see any kind of film - and thought I would just fall asleep as I didn't expect it to catch my interest enough to put up with the bad audio and small screens. In any case I dislike feel-good movies, and all the Kiwi-innovator stuff makes me cringe, Kiwis don't have the monopoly on being resourceful. And I'd never heard of Burt Munro. So I was surprised to find within a few minutes I was entranced.

Anthony Hopkins has made a brilliant job of the role, his accent wasn't too bad, and I loved the way he said "Invercarrrrrrgill". Hopkins' talent really shone - without him saying a word or changing his expression, you just knew how Burt felt when confronted by an apparently insurmountable obstacle (I won't spoil it) and his placid acceptance of the inevitable falls, tumbles and injuries told you that for Burt these were a fact of life. The other cast were also flawless, for me there wasn't a weak point in any of the acting. The humour was delivered in the main by Hopkins and with the lightest possible touch. The cinematography was beautiful and conveyed the journey from long quiet light of Munro's idealism in Invercargill, murky 'orribleness of the necessary evil of passing through LA and laying your dream on the line in the harsh open glare of Utah.

Hopkins has done a few of these slightly-disreputable, love-em-when-you-get-to-know-em characters but this is the best. And I'm not a motorcycle fan, and no Kiwi-made-good fan, but I will confess to a tear (almost) at the end when the text came up about Burt's unbeaten record.

If you watch this film at home you won't want to be disturbed by other people talking - you'll want to catch every word, every nuance.

This was an interesting story of an older, poor guy traveling all the wayfrom New Zealand to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to try to set a world speed record on his motorcycle. With Anthony Hopkins playing that man, "Burt Munro," you know it's not some hokey little B-film. It's also based on real-life character who did this back in 1969.

This film reminded me of "The Straight Story," starring Richard Farnsworth. That dealt with an old man taking a long tractor ride across the state of Iowa to see his dying brother. It featured a bunch of nice characters he met along his journey. This is much the same as we witness Munro's encounters with a variety of people in the United States. Like "The Straight Story," all the people are good people and help our man. That's nice to see.

Once he finally gets to the Salt Flats, however, his problems are far from over as he is unable to meet any of the minimum safety standards. It appears he made his trip for nothing, but, you'll see what happens if you view this movie.

New Zealanders say Hopkins did them proud, too, and they would know if he did a good job or not playing a man from their area of the world, whether he sounded and acted realistically. They say he did.

I enjoyed the first 35 minutes of this story the most. Maybe because that's the most innocent part of the film and features a young boy who looks up to Burt and encourages him when few others are willing to do so.

It's when Munro reaches America where the "nice, clean family film" goes south a bit. He hooks up with transvestites, one-night stands, profanes here and there and the PC angle gets a little overplayed. However, despite making America look a little too weird, everything is done is a tasteful way and it still was a wonderful story. It has to be an inspiration for older folks who might think life's challenges are over once they hit a certain age. Not so, as Mr. Munro shows us in this inspiring, well-photographed film.

This certainly is quite an unknown movie for one which has such a famous actor in the starring role. It's well worth your time, though, to check out.

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/Director Roger Donaldson has been very prolific in his Hollywood career creating mostly slick, ho-hum projects such as "The Recruit", "Thirteen Days", "Dante's Peak" and "Cocktail". Although there is a touch of sap in this one, Donaldson turns on the charm for the fascinating tale of Burt Munro, the New Zealander who shocked the world with his speed records in the 1960's.

Playing a bit like a motorized "Hidalgo", the film captures your heart and imagination thanks in large part to the amazing journey of this spirited man and the terrific performance of Sir Anthony Hopkins. Making his way half way around the world with almost no money to his name, Munro realizes a life long dream of running his hand-built 1920 Indian "motor-sickle" at the Salt Flats of Bonneville in Utah. his journey and openness introduce him to so many people along the way. His warm heart and courage just will these folks to help him out. Everyone wants ol' Burt to make it.

While you may think to yourself this is just a light-hearted Hollywood feel-good film, just remember the man and the story are real. Donaldson and Hopkins worked together over 20 years ago in "The Bounty" and have another very interesting project under way now with "Papa" - a biopic on Ernest Hemingway. Three supporting performances really stand out: Diane Ladd, (comedian) Paul Rodriguez and Christopher Lawford (Peter's son) as Jim Moffit. Donaldson, in a nice touch, also spreads in a few appearances of the guys from the high speed world.

This is one you can take the family to and almost everyone will enjoy the story, journey and spirit of Burt Munro. And believe me when I say, you will never look at Lemon trees the same again!!

Anthony Hopkins is simply astounding. The man can disappear inside of characters so diverse and capture you so completely, that you have to wonder if his well of talent has a bottom.

This film is at turns charming, bawdy, fascinating, riveting, nerve wracking, hilarious, heartwarming and heartbreaking. As Burt Munro -- an aging New Zealand man losing his hearing, short on money, living in a shed surrounded by weeds, considered a lovable if eccentric oddball by all who know him except one small boy, and obsessed with making a 45 year old motorcycle capable of breaking the land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats -- Hopkins takes us along for the ride every minute of this movie. The fact that this film is based on the true story of Burt Munro makes it all the more captivating, but a lesser actor than Hopkins might very well have lost us along the way. It is no wonder that the children of the real-life Burt Munro were moved to tears by Hopkins' portrayal.

There's a clever ongoing bit about the taste of Burt's hot tea, and you will also wonder a bit about how his lemonade might taste. Every scene is a jewel in this movie, and the cumulative effect proves that extraordinary films do not have to cost bazillions of dollars and take two years of computer-generated special effects to WOW their audience.

Burt is challenged by every imaginable obstacle standing between him and his speed dream: his failing heart may give out any minute, the journey around the world to transport the 1920 Indian motorcycle to the USA seems insurmountable, he has no machine shop or whiz-bang tools and equipment to work his engineering miracles, etc. What he DOES have is an indomitable spirit that will never, ever stop trying. Whether he's battling young ruffians who diss his ancient motorcycle or banking, bureaucrats and red tape, he is a wrinkled but worthy warrior.

The supporting cast is as beautiful and bizarre as it gets, and the audience becomes inordinately fond and just about every one of them except for a nasty foreign cabdriver (Carlos Lacamara), but hey, somebody had to be disliked. Great actors in small roles abound, including Diane Ladd as Ada, a frontier gal that's been lonely a while, Saginaw Grant as Jake, an "Indian" with a really distasteful solution to Burt's prostate problems, and Paul Rodriguez as Fernando, a human and humane used car salesman. Perhaps the best scene -- and heart -- stealer is Chris Williams as Tina, a cross-dressing front desk night clerk at a fleabag hooker hotel. You gotta love him. Or her, as the case may be. Stellar performance, and Hopkins' Burt treats Tina with such dignity it defines friendship.

Don't miss this fine, fine film. And if there is justice in the boffo box office world, The World's Fastest Indian will be a true Oscar contender in 2006.

It's a good thing I took my wife, because as all men know the only way not to cry is to look over at your wife/girlfriend and make fun of them for crying.

Seriously, I am a motorcycle aficionado but I truly think this movie transcends that. It's not a "guy's film" at all but a serious look at the life of a man that was average by his own reckoning - by ours he's a hero. When you find yourself looking at that and saying "I would have quit" and it was only the beginning of the movie, well, that's some tough stock Burt Munro came from.

And it's not tedious, not an uphill struggle all the way against insurmountable odds, none of those clichés. It's a great movie about a real guy and I can't imagine someone watching it and not being entertained, moved, and frankly, impressed.