Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a review out of the wonderful land of hobbits, garlic mayo, chocolate fish, giant apes and gorgeous stand-ins. Dimnix has written in before and now he's seen a movie that really made him want to climb a mountain and shout its praises to the world. This is the Anthony Hopkins flick THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN. The flick looks to be getting a standard Oscar US release... December in New York and LA, opening wider in January of next year. I can't wait to see it, myself. If Dimnix is right and this is the best performance Anthony Hopkins has ever turned in... well, them's high words and I have to see it. Enjoy the review!

G'day, dimnix here with a review of "The World's Fastest Indian", written & directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Anthony Hopkins. The film opened in New Zealand a few days ago, and I'm hoping it'll get an international release soon. Roger Donaldson, the writer/director of the film, is one of many kiwi directors who have recently been returning to New Zealand to make films at home after mainly international careers. Others doing this are Andrew Adamson with Narnia, and Vincent Ward with River Queen. Donaldson's american career's been an interesting one, helming goofy films like Species and Dante's Peak, as well as more serious fare such as Thirteen Days and The Recruit. This, however, is a much smaller, more intimate film and one that I think Donaldson was very passionate about bringing to the screen.

"The World's Fastest Indian" tells the true story of Burt Munro, a kiwi from Invercargill (NZ's most southern city, right down at the bottom of the world), who had a passion in life: his 1920 Indian motorcycle. Munro had an obsession with speed and spent most of his life in his shed using home made tools, modifying the bike to make it faster. And did he ever make it faster...from a bike which had a normal speed of around 50 miles per hour, to over 150 miles per hour. He used unconventional methods and alot of trial and error and had a dream - to take his bike to the Bonneville Salf Flats in America for Speed Week and see how fast it can really go. In 1967, Burt did take his bike to Bonneville, and what happened there is pretty extraordinary. I dont want to give it away...it's a true story and one I knew before I saw the film, but I think it would be even more effective for an audience that doesnt know the ending.

So, I knew the basic story, and I'd seen a few clips on TV, most of them showing Burt in his shed, working on his bike with his young neighbour. So, I was expecting a very indie-vibe from the film, and expected it to mostly focus on the building of the bike, with the climax taking place in the U.S. And when the film started, that seemed to be the case. And before I knew it (about twenty minutes into the film) Burt was already leaving Invercargill on a boat headed towards America.

Roger Donaldson has decided to turn this story into a road movie - this old fella from New Zealand with his rusty old bike, with a crazy dream of making it to Bonneville, and encountering various other characters on the road there. It wasnt what I expected but it works wonderfully.

The film's very simple structure has Burt arriving in Los Angeles, getting a car, and beginning his long road journey to his destination. In each part of the film he is always joined by one or more supporting characters, all of them intrigued by this funny man from some crazy land called "New Zealand", and all of them willing to lend a helping hand to this man and his dream. Roger Donaldson doesnt let any of these characters be forgettable - each and every one of them makes a big impact in their short screen time. There's the cross dressing receptionist at Burt's Hollywood motel, the used car salesman who lets Burt use his garage, the Native American who helps burt out on the side of the road, the Vietnam soldier who hitches a ride for a short while and many more. These characters rarely overlap - they have their scenes with Burt then leave the story, quickly to be replaced by another interesting character. I think that Donaldson did this because of Munro's character - he's just a wonderful, extremely likeable guy. You're not sure if he's mad or not, but he has a dream and an enthusiasm you can't help but support. Everyone is inspired by his character to lend a helping hand, hoping that maybe Burt will pull off a miracle if he gets to Bonneville.

In some ways this film reminded me of Forrest Gump in the way the story progresses. It's a very noticable structure and one that could have backfired but here it works a charm. Some of the characters are quite random - most notably the cross dressing motel receptionist, but that makes me think that many of these characters were real people that the real Burt Munro encountered on his trip.

One thing this film captures perfectly is the ol' kiwi spirit. Anybody who's been to New Zealand knows that we're people who like to think outside of the box. In many places there are rules that dictate the way things are supposed to be done, but in New Zealand we dont like being limited in that way. Burt Munro's bike includes metal brackets off fences, wine corks, and normal bike tires that have had the treat cut off with a kitchen carving knife to turn them into "high speed tires". He even uses a power grinder to trim his toenails. To outsiders he may seem like a nut, but if it works...why not use these things? If you've seen the Lord Of The Rings dvds you'll have seen some of the crazy ways some of the sets and miniatures were built. People from other countries, mainly America, always seemed surprised by this free thinking approach - infact, some of them call us kiwis "mexicans with cellphones". That kiwi spirit is really the heart of this film - when Burt reaches Bonneville with his odd motorcycle, the other participants think he's crazy. But when they talk to him they're so impressed with his attitude and enthusiasm that they support him even though they dont believe he has a chance to succeed. The american characters throughout the film are constantly surprised and refreshed to see somebody so free in their thinking and outlook on life, and he seems to leave a lasting impression on each and every one of them. At other times Burt is confused and surprised by the attitudes in America - the taxi driver who tells him to sit silently in the back seat, the customs officers who tell him he has to stand "behind the yellow line" and several other similar instances. It creates a great contrast between the two countries, and for that reason I think this is a film that wont work just for kiwi audiences but international audiences as well.

And now for the most incredible part of the film - the acting by Anthony Hopkins. This is quite possibly the best acting I've ever seen from him. He's had a few iconic characters in his career, mainly Hannibal Lecter - but here, he ceases to be Anthony Hopkins - he becomes Burt Munro so completely that it has to be seen. He does a wonderful Invercargill accent, but it's not just his speaking - every mannerism is different from the Anthony Hopkins we know, and he creates a character that feels real. It's in every expression, every movement, the ums and ahs when he speaks, the little dance he does when he gets excited. Knowing how Anthony Hopkins is in real life, the transformation here is extraordinary, and he has a smile on his face and a warmth to his personality in the character of Burn Munro that will win over any audience. You're behind the guy 100%. For the most part, Burt is full of enthusiasm, but there are a few more emotional moments in the film - early on when he speaks to his young neighbour about a dead twin brother, and most notably the scene in which he finally arrives at Bonneville. He stands on the salt flats with the sun setting in the distance, finally having completed his long journey - a lifelong dream - and the tears that swell up in his eyes seem so natural. You're so happy for the guy that you'll have a grin stretched across your face. This is an oscar worthy performance.

The film is based in the 60s but it's never in your face about that fact. You'll notice that the cars and buildings are all older in style, but it's the sort of story that doesnt rely on the time in which it happened. Although having said that, they did a great job with the early scenes in New Zealand - the old style ambulance and other features got a laugh from the audience. One notable 60's part of the film is a conversation with the young Vietnam soldier who talks excitedly about this "agent orange". Interestingly, the discussion then shifts to how long the war will take (which matches with the current situation in Iraq), and the Influenza pandemic in the early 1900's - Burt talks about his experience during the pandemic, and with all the media coverage of Bird Flu the audience seemed to be listening very closely.

So, sofar I've been praising the film, but does it have faults? Yeah, a few, but the overall film is so charming and wonderful that they really don't matter, but here goes: The film is very mainstream in it's approach, very accessible to any audience - and that's a good thing, but the one part of it that stood out to me was the music. It's very mainsteam movie music - whenever there's emotion, you hear soft piano. In any amusing scenes there's 'quirky' music that reminded me of similar music in American Beauty. There's an early scene in Invercargill where a group of young bikers show up, and the music suddenly goes deep marking the arrival of 'villians'. There's even bizarre electronic beats early in the film. In the early scenes I felt it degraded the film a bit, but to be honest by the halfway point of the film I didnt even notice because I'd been so completely won over. The other bit that stuck out to me was the character of the cross dressing motel receptionist (I think called Tina), and as I said earlier I'm guessing the character existed in real life - but there are some shots when he's just arrived in hollywood where the frame is filled with the face of the bizarre character with pink neon lights behind her/him - it felt out of place with the rest of the movie. But you know what? I dont care.

When it comes to the technical aspects, Roger Donaldson understood that what was important with this film wasnt flashy photography or anything artsy - it's a wonderful story and an incredible character that doesnt need that stuff. He keeps it simple, just tells the story and does it very well. Not to say that the film isn't gorgeous - the cinematography is beautiful and the shots at the Bonneville Salt Flats capture the speed perfectly (and I didnt notice any CGI - it seems they filmed these sequences for real).

This is a great movie. It's a very mainstream movie, but it's a really well done mainstream movie and it's a wonderful true story. It's inspirational, entertaining, exciting, and overall a real blast. There's a sense of fun in this film that will win over anybody - I dare you to see the movie and not enjoy it. It's not a perfect movie and does have flaws but they really are irrelevant, because what's good is so good that you wont care about a few nitpicky bits here and there. And the acting of Anthony Hopkins is just tremendous, and I hope to see him get an oscar nomination for this because he absolutely deserves it. Even without the achievements, if Burt Munro was anything like the character in the film he deserves to be immortalised in this film just for being an amazing guy.

I hope Roger Donaldson manages to get this film a wide international release - it deserves a big audience. I had thought this would feel like a 'kiwi film', and while Invercargill does get it's time in the spotlight (including a cameo by the city's mayor that got alot of laughs), this is a story that will be appreciated by anyone. I highly recommend it and I hope you all get a chance to see it. If you want a trailer, it can be seen BY CLICKING RIGHT HERE!

And if you do want to know how it all ends, do a google search or click the trailer link (it has a synopsis next to the trailer that gives it away). You'll be astounded.