Spoiler Alert - I am going to talk about what happens in this documentary.. I don't feel bad because it's a biography.. but thought I would warn you in case you want to watch it blind.
Senna is "A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34."
Just to be clear, I have no interest in racing. The culture is weird to me, and I don't really get it. However, I was in Brazil in 1994 when Ayrton Senna died and it was an experience I will never forget. Ayrton Senna was a Brazilian Hero in the early 90s. Brazil had nothing going for them- a corrupt government, corrupt police system, an out of control economy (the currency changed 3 times during the 5 years I lived there). Ayrton Senna was a light in a dark place.
When he died in a tragic racing accident, the country completely lost it. Think Michael Jordan dying in the middle of a basketball game when he was at the peak of his career.
Brazilians do not suffer in silence. People wore all black for the whole week of his death. At my school, the teachers put a Black stripe across all the Brazilian flags on display. The flags were at half mast the whole week. This wasn't just his family, or Formula 1 fans- it was the whole country. People were openly weeping about it. I remember watching the evening news and the newscaster started sobbing during the live broadcast just mentioning it.. and the camera just stayed on him because everyone else was weeping too.
The Documentary does a great job telling Ayrton Senna's story and it actually makes Formula 1 driving interesting. Sorry if you didn't know he died. I remember telling Meeker something about him dying while we were watching it and he was like "HE DIES?!" I forgot that most Americans have no idea who he is.
(PS- Brazil recovered from its mourning a few months later as they won the World Cup '94!)
