The bike and the Thatha

Movies like 'The World's fastest Indian' come and go every year. Most of them are sports movies and repeat the same 'Triump of Human Spirit' tale. Some play it to the hilt, some are above average, and there are a few that you don't mind sitting through. ('Dogeball - A true underdog story' is an exception from this general classification, probably because the sport is run by the ADAA - The American Dodgeball Association of America).

In TWFI, Anthony Hopkins plays ... no not the Indian (Not that he wouldn't try it. He has played a black guy before). He is Burt Munro from a place in Newzealand that most Kiwis havent probably heard of. His dream is to do a speed trial at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on his 'Indian' (a bike from the 20s). It is a classic tale of the spirit being so willing, that it drags the flesh along.

He has waited all these years. He is living on welfare and spends most of his time on his bike even if he is not on it. He is too devoted to the Indian that when neighbors ask him to maintain his lawn, he decides to burn it down, so he won't have to. An angina attack later, he decides it is time to go to Utah for he may not have the time.

Like I said, you know this story. Thats not the main thing. What is worth watching is how Burt Munro endears himself to everyone he meets and sometimes gets things done by using his age and helplessness in a smart way. Some of the things he does are so outrageous that the people who stare at him in helplessness do so only because they do not want to shout at a very old person. There are some fun moments between Burt and his neighbor's kid.

The movie mixes the 'fish out of water' (Kiwi in the US) and 'triumph of human spirit' situations in a good way and although it is a drag at times, it doesnt get to the point where you want to skip chapters.