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Dominic Corry

Christmas Day at 10.10pm

In late 1960s Invercargill, aging motorcycle enthusiast Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) realised his time on this planet was perhaps in its final stretch, so he pooled his resources in a last ditch attempt to fulfil a long-held dream.

This was to race his extremely souped-up 1920 Indian motorcycle at the annual world land speed time trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, and attempt to set a new world record.

The World's Fastest Indian is an unadulterated pleasure from start to finish that'll have you welling with national pride. It's a refreshingly old school portrayal of classic Kiwi values ably anchored by a remarkable lead performance from Anthony Hopkins.

The plot of The World's Fastest Indian embodies the making of the film itself - everything about it screams labour of love. It's easy to forget that Roger Donaldson has spent the last twenty years generating slick Hollywood product (like No Way Out, Thirteen Days and The Recruit) - The World's Fastest Indian feels intrinsically "local" and doesn't go out of its way to cater to an international audience. It oozes "New Zealandness," and is all the more lovable for it.

This borderline parochial, guileless (but never naive) worldview is further represented by how much of the tension in the film comes from the precariousness of Burt's journey through the big bad world of America, and how close his dreams come to derailing throughout. But it's his plucky Kiwi spirit that sees him through, which gives the viewer all the more reason to get behind him. It's not that Munro doesn't find his fair share of allies in the States, but it is portrayed as an unforgiving and alien expanse, albeit one that never intimidates this tenacious Invercargillian.

Anthony Hopkins does a quietly amazing job of perfectly embodying the classic old kiwi coot. With all his grandstanding performances of the last few decades, it's easy to forget that he can be a subtly affecting actor. He's almost become a caricature of himself, with his relentless (and ever diminishing) portrayals of Hannibal Lecter, and various other "loud" roles. But here, with his pitch-perfect mumbling and understated speaking style, you'll actually find yourself forgetting you're watching Anthony Hopkins (a rare feat these days) and marvel afterwards how masterfully he slipped into the role.

Few of the supporting characters stick around for long, but they all generally get a moment to shine - most memorable are Diane Ladd as an extremely hospitable American widow and young Aaron Murphy as Burt's worshipful neighbour Tom.

Although unique in content and subject matter, The World's Fastest Indian in many ways follows the traditional cinematic model of the "uplifting" movie. Which is nothing to be ashamed of, but which may compromise its chances of winning awards. The bodies who give these out tend to frown upon "feel good" movies, but to characterise The World's Fastest Indian as simply that is incorrect. It is a masterfully put together movie with an Oscar-worthy lead performance.

Despite positive receptions at various festival screenings, some American critics have unfortunately pigeonholed it as a film "about and for old people". Which is balls, as the themes of The World's Fastest Indian couldn't be more universal, and it possesses a youthful vitality more potent than most ostensibly "younger" films.

The film could be accused of being a bit cute at times, but it stops well short of over mythologizing its central figure. The ending is perhaps a little abrupt, but that serves to highlight how despite his ultimate accomplishments, Burt's journey was truly his destination.

In a post-Whale Rider and In My Father's Den landscape, The World's Fastest Indian shows that not all our cinematic successes need to be contemporary stories - it demonstrates how New Zealand has a rich, storied past with many unexplored corners. This film may be traditional in tone, but it never feels irrelevant.

It never betrays its unapologetic New Zealandness, going so far as to wear it boldly in its sleeve, but there is nary a hint of cultural cringe in sight, furthering the notion that we may have finally moved beyond our red-faced national self-perception. A powerful story such as this, told in such an appealing populist manner, can only help.

The World's Fastest Indian is an unqualified joy throughout and it marks a career highlight for Donaldson, another local success showing the rest of the world just what we're made of down here.

Highly recommended.

Dominic Corry

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