This review originally appeared on the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s “Roll Film” movie review site (http://www.biketraffic.org/content.php?id=219_0_6_0). Each film was also reviewed by my CBF colleague, Greg Borzo, who focused more on the bike content.
HELL ON WHEELS
3 Wheels
As a rule, I try to review films from my own perspective and not attempt to imagine how they may be viewed by a hypothetical audience. In the case of Hell on Wheels, however, I couldn't help but think that die-hard fans of the Tour de France, those who have watched it regularly or even traveled to France for the event, would be in heaven screening this comprehensive documentary.
Like the race itself, Hell on Wheels is sprawling, chaotic, unwieldy and, at times, epic. As the film began, I was slow getting into it. Only being familiar with the Tour de France through news reports, I felt thrown into this world with no introduction. A quarter through, I stopped trying to figure out the rules and who was winning and just took in the atmosphere. This approach allowed me to appreciate what a massive event the Tour is and how many stories must be converging around it.
The strategy used by directors Pepe Danquart and Werner Schweizer is to show the Tour from as many perspectives as possible. Primarily, we follow the race through the riders themselves, mostly through the eyes of the German team. At other times, we assume the point of view of a television audience, a historian lecturing on the tour's history, sportscasters, fans along the route, French residents having to live with this annual onslaught, coaches (who are invariably either giving rubdowns or in radio communication with their riders while following them in cars) and even construction workers and security.
Equally chaotic is the music that goes along with the racing scenes. Not content to stick with any one style, it shifts freely from jazz to rock to techno to traditional French folk melodies. Even the opening credits make liberal use of split screens, wild graphics and quick editing to prepare the viewer for a bumpy ride. And a bumpy ride is the least of the horrors facing many tour riders.
Hell on Wheels lives up to its title by showing accidents galore and, ouch, they look nasty. We're helpfully informed that a serious injury almost always takes place on the first day of the race, not that a small thing like a broken collarbone will deter these riders. The power of the Tour de France is crystallized by the historian (biased as he may be) claiming that the Tour is a much bigger event than either the Olympics or the World Cup. For another perspective, a weary rider observes, "Why didn't I become a surfer?"
The race scenes themselves are entertaining, but not as visually striking as in stylized films like Breaking Away. Aside from the aforementioned crashes, most of the memorable scenes are backstage mini-dramas that showcase the personality of the riders. We're not meant to care too much who wins the race. While the result will be obvious to connoisseurs, the filmmakers don't even bother to inform us newbies who the victor actually is. It's the images, sounds and surroundings that we're meant to soak up. And we do.
HELL ON WHEELS
3 Wheels
As a rule, I try to review films from my own perspective and not attempt to imagine how they may be viewed by a hypothetical audience. In the case of Hell on Wheels, however, I couldn't help but think that die-hard fans of the Tour de France, those who have watched it regularly or even traveled to France for the event, would be in heaven screening this comprehensive documentary.
Like the race itself, Hell on Wheels is sprawling, chaotic, unwieldy and, at times, epic. As the film began, I was slow getting into it. Only being familiar with the Tour de France through news reports, I felt thrown into this world with no introduction. A quarter through, I stopped trying to figure out the rules and who was winning and just took in the atmosphere. This approach allowed me to appreciate what a massive event the Tour is and how many stories must be converging around it.
The strategy used by directors Pepe Danquart and Werner Schweizer is to show the Tour from as many perspectives as possible. Primarily, we follow the race through the riders themselves, mostly through the eyes of the German team. At other times, we assume the point of view of a television audience, a historian lecturing on the tour's history, sportscasters, fans along the route, French residents having to live with this annual onslaught, coaches (who are invariably either giving rubdowns or in radio communication with their riders while following them in cars) and even construction workers and security.
Equally chaotic is the music that goes along with the racing scenes. Not content to stick with any one style, it shifts freely from jazz to rock to techno to traditional French folk melodies. Even the opening credits make liberal use of split screens, wild graphics and quick editing to prepare the viewer for a bumpy ride. And a bumpy ride is the least of the horrors facing many tour riders.
Hell on Wheels lives up to its title by showing accidents galore and, ouch, they look nasty. We're helpfully informed that a serious injury almost always takes place on the first day of the race, not that a small thing like a broken collarbone will deter these riders. The power of the Tour de France is crystallized by the historian (biased as he may be) claiming that the Tour is a much bigger event than either the Olympics or the World Cup. For another perspective, a weary rider observes, "Why didn't I become a surfer?"
The race scenes themselves are entertaining, but not as visually striking as in stylized films like Breaking Away. Aside from the aforementioned crashes, most of the memorable scenes are backstage mini-dramas that showcase the personality of the riders. We're not meant to care too much who wins the race. While the result will be obvious to connoisseurs, the filmmakers don't even bother to inform us newbies who the victor actually is. It's the images, sounds and surroundings that we're meant to soak up. And we do.
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