A Remarkable Man: Burt Munro

Rating: 10/10 (9 August 2006)

There comes a time when an actor who has been known for giving performance after performance that has gone into the levels of classic acting, chooses a project that is smaller, less showy, but equally (or even more) rewarding than if he were involved in an Award-studded affair. Sir Anthony Hopkins is one of those rare actors, who throughout his celebrated, nearly 40 years in the business, has given so many indelible characterizations -- particularly come the Nineties when he immortalized himself as Hannibal Lecter -- that now, as an older man, he's chosen this unassuming story of an equally unassuming man much stronger than what he initially appears.
Burt Munro wouldn't be the type of man you would consider pleasant to be around with. Living in Invercargill, New Zealand, he's fooled around with his favorite motorcycle, whom he's dubbed the Indian (hence the title of the movie), for the past 40 odd-years or so, and has a heart condition that might make you wonder if he weren't better off taking a break. Of course, that is something he won't settle for, and later in the story one man calls him the most determined person he's ever seen. That this minor character does so a world away in Bonneville, and that Munro has gone through a wallop of misadventures just to get there and race his bike, speaks pages about the man.
Much of Munro's life can be researched through the Internet, which makes this a de-facto biopic of a remarkable old fellow, soft spoken, a little dotty, who clearly loves his bike and on his way to race it meets the most interesting variety of characters this way of Weirdsville. Hopkins is the perfect actor to play Munro because he essentially sheds any vestige of his personality and literally becomes this dizzy old man who has a dream and follows it. He's given some pretty extraordinary support by Chris Williams as a transvestite named Tina Washington, Diane Ladd as a widow, Saginaw Grant as an Indian who helps him along the way, Christopher Lawford as a man who somehow believes Munro is the real thing (despite his clear dependence on heart medication), Patrick Flueger as a soldier who shares some stories with Munro, and little Aaron Murphy who plays Tom, the neighbor's son, who might as well be a surrogate boy to Munro. Bruce Greenwood, Paul Rodriguez, and Jessica Cauffiel have small parts which round up the cast.
THE WORLD'S FASTEST Indian is a beautiful movie that went unnoticed (as many high-quality films do when released in limited movie screens) earlier this year, but deserves to be seen and enjoyed for its honesty. Some of the vignettes seem a little too much for the viewer who wants Munro to get to his final destination and make magic with the force of speed, but when you have a project you believe in -- as Munro did, with his precious bike -- you wind up with a end result that is transcendental from its material. Roger Donaldson clearly believes in this man, and has brought forth a truly moving story.