The World's Fastest Indian Review

"THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN" reviews

Movie

THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-02-02 17:01:56

Provider

Review

No it's not about a take-away service. This is the story of Bill Munro, born and raised in Invercargill, New Zealand, a bike enthusiast since forever. At 72 he's holding on to his dream to ride at the Salt Flats in Utah.

He's not popular with the neighbours, tinkering away at all hours to get that extra bit of speed out of his 1920s Indian motorcycle. Only their young son Tom believes in Bill, lending him an occasional mechanical hand. Everyone knows his idiosyncratic ways though, and with them he scrapes together just enough to get to the USA. Arriving only to hear the distressing news he should have registered months ago to be able to run. However, with the support of fellow racers and enthusiastic supporters the officials bend their rules and Bill gets his big chance. Naïve, but with just enough common sense to get by, his fantastic voyage introduces him to a transvestite motel receptionist, a young soldier and old lady farmer.

Donaldson's movie has been almost as long in the making as Munro's dream, being initially sparked by a meeting with him over 25 years ago. His slightly schmaltzy script veers just clear of ickiness, producing an endearing film played out with wonderful vistas and yet another fine performance from Hopkins, who described the film as "the best thing I've done, the best experience I've had". The bike scenes are impressively rugged, illustrating the speed and dangers Bill faced, and the story keeps its tight focus on Bill's dream, rather than distracting itself by tying to tell his whole life story. Ultimately, it's a big story in a small but perfectly formed movie.