A Western with modern knights who ride engines

Rating: 7/10 (17 November 2019)

(translation from Italian) American films all have their roots in the Western: the man who faces others, the man who faces nature, the man who faces the great challenge. In this film the great challenge takes place with two extraordinary protagonists: Matt Damon and Christian Bale. Because this film to express its epic is implanted on the model of the Western and on these modern knights who ride the steel and ride the engines, but the structure and narration are those of the Western. The merit of the director is that he has found this formula. In a show business which is now flawed and calibrated by digital, he first rediscovered an epic realism - as he had already done with Logan, his previous film - that brings us back with this strength and courage. The film is important for its realism: cars and races shoots delude us that we are really there, because they are not simply digital, they are true and perhaps enriched by digital, but not fake and electronic. You can almost hear the cinema seats vibrate in the race. I have been and am a passionate driver so I found myself immersed in the cars of the 60s. I had had some of them and I reviewed them like old loves. I told to the person sitting next to me that I suffered as a lifer forced to watch an adult movie in prison, because seeing again the forms of those cars, hearing the engines roar of cars I had, remembering the feelings and emotions I felt was poignant and beautiful. So, my review is definitely partial because I couldn't get away, though I tried to be cold, from the charm of these engines. By the way, we talk about mythical cars because there are the Le Mans 24 Hours Ferraris, which therefore are absolutely extraordinary and there are the Fords made for this challenge. Indeed, the root of the film is this. There is a famous line by Henry Ford I - in the film there is his nephew Henry Ford II - who in 1909 created the first inexpensive automobile because he introduced moving assembly belts to make various mechanical parts and his assembly line was revolutionary, a production system called Fordism. Ford had his own way of making it clear what was his marketing concept: "Any customer can have a Model T painted any color that he wants - Model T was Ford first model - as long as it's black." His grandson Henry Ford II is the protagonist of the challenge against Enzo Ferrari. Everyone knows the myth and strength of Ferrari. While Ford Motor Company was born in 1909, the racing team Scuderia Ferrari was born in 1929, but in 1937 Alfa Romeo for which Ferrari developed race cars decides to regain full control of its racing division and immediately after the war in 1947 Enzo Ferrari founds Ferrara S.p.A. which is the most successful team in the world with 15 World Drivers Championship titles and 16 Constructors. So clearly Henry Ford II realizes to have a titan next to him and despite having the biggest automobile industry of the time he must face a Goliath who has no slingshot, but a bullet, or rather a cannon in his hand and therefore can beat him at any time. However, the power of money, strength and will in the film are also born by Lee Iacocca, his marketing expert, who starts the challenge. Although actually it is said that one day Henry Ford II wanted to drive a Ferrari and after a lap, when he got off, he said: "It's a perfect car, that damn Ferrari must have hired God to design it." In this kind of respect there is all the film yeast, the spring that triggers the story, making Ford decide to beat Ferrari on Le Mans race. 24 diabolic and terrible hours, whatever the weather: with the fog, with rain, with cold for 24 hours at a time the cars must run at infernal speed, reaching the famous, desperate, terrible 7,000 rpm. At 7,000 rpm it immediately goes out of phase and the cars grab, so you have to be constantly careful. The one with the most resistant rider wins with the best pilot, with the best car, more reliable, more powerful. These two elements combined must shoot in this hellish carousel for 24 hours, challenged by other terrible pilots with other diabolical cars. All against all in this eternal lap. The night goes down and you must run, the fog rises and you must run, rain comes and you must run, there is the sun that breaks the stones and you have to keep running. This is the 24 Hours of Le Mans and who wins there it's like he came out of hell. From 1960 Ferrari had won 5 times in a row and at this point it's up to Ford to beat him choosing two knights as Shine. In a western movie they would have been two gunslingers: one who has fought so many challenges, but is temporarily disabled - in a western movie he would be wounded in one hand or he would have the classic shoulder injury while his friend tells him "Come on, we'll make it" - and must train another gunslinger for this challenge, perhaps younger, perhaps less experienced, maybe as good as him, but irascible, not controllable. Therefore this couple joins to face this challenge by transforming it - and this is thanks to director James Mangold - in a talent challenge against marketing because it's not just Ford against Ferrari, but also the eternal challenge that is always there between artistic flash and prosaic reality. Ford makes this race to sell cars, so he must win but he must sell, while instead Ferrari makes the race for his pride, just to win. So this great challenge begins.