Film Festival 09 - Big River Man
Big River Man
USA/UK 2008, 94m
Director: John Maringouin
Festivals: Sundance 2009
Marathon endurance swimmer Martin Strel is the Captain Bad Example
of extreme sports, attributing his stamina to a diet of horse
burgers and alcohol. The raucous beer-bellied Slovenian has swum
the length of the Mississippi and survived the toxic wastes that
stream into the Yangtze. At 52 he's ready for the Amazon. His
English-speaking son/manager/spin doctor Borut accentuates
environmental awareness and raises sponsorship. Filmmaker John
Maringouin follows as the Strels and their self-taught American
navigator prepare for piranhas and penis-invading parasites, and
embark on the 3274 mile swim. As Strel Snr succumbs to sunburn,
spurns doctor's instructions and knocks back whisky like it's
sports drink, he becomes as demented as any of Herzog's Amazon
adventurers, and twice as bizarre to behold; a white-masked monster
muscling down the mighty currents. Superbly photographed, with an
ecstatic operatic score, the film glories in the Amazon's primeval
splendour and one man's indomitability, but with an ear tuned to
the siren call of oblivion.
In English, Slovenian and Portuguese, with English subtitles
www.bigriverman.com
