This weekend Richard and I saw The World’s Fastest Indian starring Sir Anthony Hopkins. The movie is about New Zealander Burt Munro who between 1962 and 1967 set several land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats on an 1920s Indian motorcycle he modified himself over a few decades.
The movie is superb and Hopkins turns in a perfect performance as the humble Munro who has a passion for speed. The movie centers on Munro’s quest to reach the Bonneville Salt Flats in America and to participate in the speed races held there each year for the fastest vehicle on land. Munro’s genuine charm and simple honesty carry him across the ocean and then on a road trip across the United States. He befriends a variety of people in a simpler time. I couldn’t shake the feeling that had Munro tried this same journey today he would never have accomplished his dream. People are suspicious of strangers, and a gentle stranger in a strange land can so easily become prey. It’s a sad state of affairs.
The movie is very enjoyable and Hopkins performance draws you into the film and into Munro’s world quickly.
