World's Fastest Indian Review

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February 6, 2006 1:58 PM
by [email]

Spanning 30,000 miles and covered in slick salt, Utah’s Bonneville flats lure hundreds of auto racers annually for the fastest week-long competition in the world. In 1967, the unlikeliest competitor was Burt Munro, who traveled on his own dime all the way from New Zealand in hopes of breaking the international speed record with a handmade forty-year-old “Indian” motorbike.

Burt’s story was initially (and obscurely) told in Roger Donaldson’s 1971 documentary “Offerings to the God of Speed.” Donaldson has since gone on to filmmaking prominence (“Thirteen Days” , “Cocktail”), and “The World’s Fastest Indian,” which he also wrote, re-imagines Burt (a terrific Anthony Hopkins) as the most eccentric of big screen heroes: he works day-in day-out on his Indian, his idea of fertilizing soil is peeing on it, his idea of mowing a lawn is burning it down.

Even dirty old men deserve love, so Burt has a comely girlfriend (Annie Whittle) who convinces him to sail to Los Angeles and drive from there to Utah. He also has a heart condition that seems a bit contrived (how many obstacles can be thrown in the poor guy’s way?), but you can’t fault Donaldson - who has crafted a moderately flawed but ultimately moving script - for filling the film with real life facts.

The writer/director is particularly good at establishing colorful relationships in very short time periods- a good thing, because Burt makes friends quickly. In New Zealand he forms a touching bond with his pre-teen next door neighbor (Aaron Murphy), and on his haphazard road-trip from Los Angeles to Utah, he befriends, among others, a cross-dresser (Chris Williams) and a horny homeowner (Diane Ladd).

A motorcycle gang that shows up in the first act is nonsensical, but for the most part, characters are warmly written and impeccably played.

Donaldson nursed “World’s Fastest Indian” for a quarter of a century, and anyone who’s seen “Beyond the Sea” knows that pet projects are often middling enterprises. Thankfully, like “Everything is Illuminated,” (which actor Liev Schrieber adapted and directed), “World’s Fastest Indian” feels personal, but never indulgent. Rather, Donaldson’s obvious love of speed, racing, and adventure in infectious.

This is thanks, in no small part, to Hopkins. I’ve admired his performances for as long as I’ve been watching movies, and have yet to see the actor gift so much joy and freedom to a role. Hopkins was considered slow when he was growing up, and his success serves as an apt parallel to Burt’s newsworthy accomplishments. I

n many ways, “World’s Fastest Indian” is a throwback to the heartwarming, inspirational family films I saw in the late eighties and early nineties. As clichéd as it sounds, Burt is one character you can’t help rooting for.

Grade: A-