‘Journey to Le Mans’ Review
Narrated by Patrick Stewart | Written and Directed by Charlotte Fantelli
The 24 hours of Le Mans is the most prestigious endurance motorsport event in the world. Fantelli Productions follows Great British privateer team Jota Sport, taking an intimate look at the feat of human endurance and the marvel of engineering it takes to compete in one of the most challenging races on earth. We bring to the screen the spectacle that is Le Mans, through the eyes and emotions of the men at the very heart of it. Proving with enough hard work, dedication and passion, you really can achieve anything. Journey to Le Mans is a depiction of the blood, sweat and tears we see, as we travel with the team. Our journey playing out over the season to – and during – Le Mans 2014.
I have never really watched racing. I only really knew of Le Mans because I heard of the games made about it and even then I have never played any of them. So watching this documentary about preparing, training and taking part in the 24 hour endurance race didn’t seem like something which would hold my interest for very long. Luckily though, I was mistaken. This documentary has mastered the art of pacing extremely well, which is ironic for a racing documentary. It shows the highs and lows of preparing for the race, the dangers and excitement and the way they are shown keeps you on our toes throughout. If you are anything like me, you will find yourself never fully sure if the team is good enough to survive the brutal experience of Le Mans. They seem to hit every bump in the road when preparing, car malfunctions, losing drivers to other teams and at one point even a pretty severe crash. So when the actual event came around, I was there with the team feeling tense and nervous.
Not only is it an exciting watch, but Journey to Le Mans is narrated by the awesome voice of Sir Patrick Stewart whose description of the races bring it up to an art form. There is plenty there too for car and racing fans with lots of dramatic slow motion racings shots, which never get old. Of course, if you have watched Le Mans 2014, you are already well aware of who the victors are, but I would still give this documentary a watch, just to feel the experience of being down in the pit with the team and see some decent interviews with the racers themselves.
Journey to Le Mans is a well delivered documentary which will have your heart racing along with the cars. A must see for racing fans and an exciting watch for the rest of us.
