Seattle International Film Festival preview - David Jeffers for SIFFblog.com

Rating: 7/10 (29 January 2006)

Tuesday January 10, 7:00pm The Harvard Exit, Seattle Thursday February 2, 7:00pm The Uptown Theater, Seattle
Take a little Cervantes, throw in some Monster Garage, add an afternoon tea break and you've got Burt Munro. He's a sweet old motorhead with a heart condition, who mows his lawn with gasoline and a lit match. Sir Anthony Hopkins is perfectly cast as the Kiwi curmudgeon who dreams of taking his ancient drag bike half way around the world to Speed Week on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. "The World's Fastest Indian" chronicles the true story of Munro's impossible 1967 journey. He manages to avoid one disaster after another while endearing himself to a colorful menagerie of characters he meets along the way. The twenties era Indian Motorcycle is a work of art and the high speed film effects on the salt flats are wonderful. "This guy is the real thing!" Anyone with a jones for vintage motorcycles and lost causes will love this reckless and happy little film.