Author rating: 3/5
This week's film tells a story of motoring, of men and engines, of feelings and wrenches, of people who have created empires and, finally, of a cultural clash between Europe (Italy in particular) and the United States. It's about Le Mans' 66 - The big challenge, directed by James Mangold and starring such protagonists as Matt Damon and Christian Bale.
At first, Ford proposes to the engineer the sale of the well-known Italian team and, when the deal fails, he is convinced to create its own stable to compete at the height of the powerful Italian machines. Then begins a race that is made above all of people, characters, visions and automotive culture against the backdrop of bushings, connecting rods, carburettors and brakes. The result is easily imaginable, at least for a short time. It's not a whodunit and therefore there's nothing to reveal: the GT-40s will win some Grand Prix.
We are in the mid-60s, when the crisis of American automobile production in Detroit makes itself felt and the heir to the empire Ford, Henry Jr, decides to find a solution to production problems. His marketing collaborators propose him to give greater visibility and strength to the brand through competitions in the great and famous car races. However, the sector is dominated by the "reds" of Maranello firmly led by Enzo Ferrari who have been winning hands down for some years on the famous French circuit of Le Mans.
It is a true story and all the characters are real, from the legendary driver and engineer Ken Miles to the equally legendary Italian-American manager Lee Jacocca known for saving Chrysler, and it is told in the best way. The engineer from Imola and the American tycoon are real tough guys and the clashes between these characters are no different. Everything is credible and faithfully reconstructed (as perhaps only the Anglo-Saxon film school is able to do) sparing no expense (Disney does not spare) and the result lives up to expectations. To think that in Europe we would have so much to say, cinematically speaking, on this subject and yet over 90% of such productions are Made in the USA.
Some sequences are certainly breathtaking with risky overtaking, off road car and adrenaline flowing at will. For enthusiasts of the genre (there are millions all over the world) there is no shortage of fun as well as the curiosity of seeing what happens behind the scenes of a great competition, where at stake there are not only the prestige and the human ability of the pilots or mechanical, but the competition in large markets, in large international business, where sometimes appearance counts more than substance.
In some stretches, the film is a marketing and industrial relations textbook for how and to what extent refined strategies and modules of interpersonal behavior are put into play that are able to determine the victory or defeat of one's strategies. Furthermore, it is a film that could also interest and amuse many video game enthusiasts who have found great success in the "car racing" sector with millions of players all over the world and very attended virtual championships.
The film season is in full swing and we are on the eve of the December releases. Right now Le Mans '66 deserves the ticket for the weekend.
