Journey to Le Mans

Sorry to say that this was not made by petrol heads and it showed. Too many close ups of neatly coiffured blokes and not enough of the engineering or racing. It would have been nice to have a full lap of in car footage, instead we were treated to a succession of close up's of people stood in the garage. The editing was constantly to quick (except when interviewing the frankly bland participants).A number of clips were used on more than one occasion (the exit from the pits behind a Chevrolet for example)which detracted from the continuity. Overall a big disappointment lacking depth and insight, it left me cold. The makers admitted in the question and answer session, following the premier, that they had not seen other racing based films and it showed. There was never any real tension created, even in the crash sequence, and at no time did I connect with the main character. If you are a true motor sport fan best give this limp offering a miss. Sorry.

How documentarians always manage to film something when a big event is about to unfold is beyond me. This was a good movie and gave a great inside look into Le Mans.

The direction is decent, however, you don't get the full feel of the races they show or the speed these cars achieve. It could have been aided from the use of Go-Pro or their equivalent in this instance.

I also would have liked to have had more of an inside look into what is JOTA and more background information about the racers,

Only major gripe is the soundtrack is terrible, it belongs in a Disney movie.

This has been lingering on my Netflix to-watch list and I finally got around to it. Being a bit of a car guy and racing fan, I sincerely wanted to like "Journey to Le Mans" (2014)

I didn't. It just did not do anything for me.

Being about a small privateer team, it already offers a unique perspective wholly different from "Truth in 24". Why oh why then does it try so hard to ape that nuts and bolts 'these are the facts laid bare' type of storytelling? Trying to do that with this team using far fewer filmmaking resources just doesn't work.

It's clear the filmmakers couldn't show up for every race meet, every practice, every team meeting and walk through-talk through. They haven't got the firepower. And yet they still try to pull off a story about building up to the big race using a patchwork of mostly generic laps and repetitive crew footage devoid of emotion. What is supposed to be the powerhouse and cache of Patrick Stewart and Tiff Needell end up being a crutch it leans on in order to patch up missing race/event coverage.

Such weaknesses needn't be deficiencies. If only more focus was put towards zeroing in on emotion. If only the filmmakers concentrated on the team principals' love for the sport, about what drives them, why they put in so much time money and effort towards racing. If only they showcased how they FEEL, then maybe we too, the audience, can feel. See: "Love The Beast" with Eric Bana.

Alas, I only came off feeling as though the filmmakers had done a disservice to the interviewees: They all come off as being boring storytellers. To interview someone is to ask them to tell a story. Unfortunately everyone seems to be the type to not expand on their feelings and motivations, who aren't open to talking about how they feel, and just would not open up about which part of their childhood influenced (and continues to influence) this desire, this drive towards victory in the rarefied field of Le Mans top finishers. I mean, there was this part about Simon Dolan being kicked out of school and then... I don't know, pursuing education on his own terms??? He's an accountant, which means his credentials are no joke, even if his education is unconventional and or self taught. Maybe the guy is a supreme autodidact, which means he has in him an amazing story, an amazing journey to share to the audience. Yet I barely got to know him. I had to read about him in another article just to fill in the blanks of "who is this man, and why should I be rooting for him to win?"

Being that I ended up knowing so little about his personality, his family life and how he is as a person, all I know is that he seems to be someone who I'd trust with money, an airline, and yes, a racing team.

But I would not anchor my story on him.

When you are a petrolhead, a 'journey to Le Mans' movie will get you interested. And I am a petrolhead, with some Le Mans experience, and I can tell you this is nothing like a Le Mans experience. It really is nothing more than a personal story of the Jota team. Must be great to see for friends and relatives of those involved in the Jota team, but why releasing it to the general public? It puzzles me. Considering it's not that interesting for petrolheads, fairly boring for motorsport enthousiast and straight-out insulting for documentary fans.

Sure, getting Patrick Stewart (needs no introduction) and Tiff Needell (a car journalist) looks good on the poster, but honestly, the Jota LMP2 team is not that interesting. The documentary contains half kind of interviews with those involved, and half clips of racing action. Le Mans Radio audio-clips are edited to the racing video's to make sure you can follow what's going on with the Jota LMP2 team.

The title of this documentary is misleading and don't get your hopes up about it's quality.

For me this was a film filled with childhood nostalgia, going to Le Mans with my Dad and watching him race. I think more than anything this captures the reality, the team spirit and drive of the individual man to win. It makes me sad to read comments about it being only about 'Jota' a small team - who wants to watch them? It is not misleading - read the synopsis, this film says exactly what it is, an inside story about a group of guys wanting to make it in the greatest race in the world. So it is OK for Audi to do it? What if it were Porsche? I think perhaps some have missed the point the filmmakers captured which is the authenticity of just a bunch of passionate chaps who take on the world. Surely THIS is inspiration beyond all else? Or perhaps it just let's an old guy think 'hey I could do that'. For me it is a ten out of ten.