How it is I’ve been blogging about indie films for years and this one has gone untouched, I can’t be sure. Suffice it to say, it’s long overdue for a review.
One could accurately quote me saying: This is my favorite feel-good indie film of any. There are a lot of reasons why. First, this is a story of my home state. It’s no secret to anyone, Utah and I have a true love-hate relationship. But if there’s something I would hope would put Utah on the map in a different direction, it’s this true story of a self-made man and his lifelong dream of visiting this mystical state. You may be wondering why mystical — don’t get ahead of me.
Burt Munro (played by the immortal Anthony Hopkins) is a happy old codger from Invercargill, a small hamlet on the south island of New Zealand, and there’s only two things he absolutely needs in his life, as it were: a few ladies for flirting with or dating, and his old powerhouse motorsickles. In the early 1960s, there he was, working everyday (usually at six in the morning, to the irritation of his neighbors and the delight of their son) on his old faithful 1920 Scout, an Indian motorbike known for being the first ever produced in America. Munro should've probably been offered a job with Indian long prior, because he seems to know more about getting the most speed out of their bikes than they did. But that wasn’t in the cards, his ambition went far beyond. He wanted to know just how fast his bike could possibly go, given no limitations and all the modifications he made this advancing its ability. He is challenged by a local biker gang to a race on the Invercargill beach — no surprise that he smokes them all. One of the only places on earth to test an motor vehicle's true speed is a few hours west of Salt Lake City, on the Bonneville Salt Flats, where they stretch dead flat for miles and miles. This and other natural phenomena, including Utah's magnificent red rock, are some of what make it such a unique and mystical-looking place (used in more movies than I could count). So at past age 60, with heart troubles and little money, this man yet sets off on achieving this dream. Hopping on a cargo ship where he pays his keep by playing chef, carrying him and his bike across the Pacific and landing them in LA, he seems to pay no notice to the journey or the setbacks. And golly but the setbacks he has, every step of the way, though they hardly seem it, what with his good attitude and his natural likability — to the point that nigh well every person he meets is suddenly a new friend.
Hopkins lands a perfect performance in this film, one he would later say is the best thing he’d ever done. Whether speaking sentimentally or seriously is irrelevant — he made a great film, written, produced, and directed by Roger Donaldson, a New Zealand-born lifelong devotee of Munro’s legacy. This story is like no other, and the tone of the film ought to leave viewers with a deep sense of satisfaction — all the more so because we feel like we're there on that journey with him from start to finish.
(No I’m not about to tell just how Munro cooks his own leg, you’ll have to catch it.)
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