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"Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna is the subject of this exhilarating documentary from The Warrior director Asif Kapadia, who charts the three-time F1 world champion&amp;#039;s journey from go-karting beginnings to his tragic death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. There&amp;#039;s not a talking head in sight as Kapadia expertly weaves audio interviews through home video and archive footage of Senna&amp;#039;s career to fashion a gripping narrative. It&amp;#039;s a stylistic trick that works, making sure that Senna is the star of his own movie and keeping the action moving along at a pace to match the auto racing cars. You don&amp;#039;t need to be a fan of F1 to love this movie, its touchstones are universal - friendship, rivalry and betrayal are all part of Senna&amp;#039;s fabric. For the charismatic and charming Brazilian, second place is never an option. His sheer will to win meant that he pushed the limits on the track and took gambles, frequently getting involved in collisions and clashing with governing body the FIA. Senna&amp;#039;s aggressive racing style, a reflection of his determined personality, made him a firm favourite with F1 fans. The sport&amp;#039;s increased TV exposure also spun the battling teams and drivers into a high-octane soap opera - with the talented Senna at the centre he became the F1 star of his generation. Counter to Senna is Frenchman Alain Prost, a calculated driver happy to hold a position lower down the track if it&amp;#039;s enough to secure him a championship. These contrasting racing styles and mind-sets give Kapadia the opportunity to create dramatic conflict. When Senna and Prost both wound up at McLaren-Honda their relationship unravelled completely, only reconciling when Prost retired, paving the way for Senna to join the dominant Williams-Renault team.  Prost&amp;#039;s closeness with countryman Jean-Marie Balestre, the FIA president, clearly irked Senna in earlier years. The documentary suggests that behind-the-scenes politicking may have led to Senna being stripped of his world championship in 1989 following a collision with Prost. Despite Senna&amp;#039;s huge success, his determination to challenge the system and rattle cages made him even more of an engaging personality. There&amp;#039;s a brilliant moment in the film where Senna comes to blows with Jackie Stewart, so peeved is he under interrogation that he addresses the F1 legend merely as &amp;quot;Stewart&amp;quot;! Credit should also go to composer Antonio Pinto, whose stirring score brilliantly accompanies the high-speed visuals to take you on a pure emotional rush. Senna&amp;#039;s untimely death has been well-documented, but it&amp;#039;s a still a brutal and heartbreaking shock when it arrives. The goosebumps start earlier though, with a vicious crash at Jerez involving Martin Donnelly and later the death of Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger on the day before Senna&amp;#039;s fatal accident. This is unmissable, transcendent cinema and one of the best movies of 2011 so far.  What do you think of the movie? Share your views "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/review/a321648/senna/>