The World’s Fastest Indian

A friend at Magnolia Pictures, the distributor of a new film, “The World’s Fastest Indian” starring Anthony Hopkins, invited Kathleen and I to the premiere screening. Hopkins, along with director Roger Donaldson, were both in attendance.

WFI is based on the true story of Burt Munro, an aged cycle jockey from New Zealand who wound up setting new land speed records at the Salt Flats in Utah back in the 1960s. Hopkins, deftly managing an extremely tricky accent, is the glue that holds together the episodic tale (also written by Donaldson) as Munro essays his monumental journey from down under to the States, encountering an assortment of colorful characters along the way and handling everyone and everything with deft charm and good humor. And the high speed sequences, when he finally proves to the doubting racers just what he and his 1920 Indian cycle are capable of, are exhilerating.

We attended the reception afterward, where I had the chance to speak briefly with Donaldson and ask him about the filming techniques involved in the high speed sequences–in which they actually got their cycle up to 150 miles per hour. And we also talked to Hopkins, who graciously signed a WFI postcard to Ariel (she stayed home and babysat Caroline, but was jealous when she found out that we were going to a party with Don Diego Vega from “The Mask of Zorro.” So I’m figuring the autograph evens things.) He and Kathleen actually worked on the same film some years back: “Freejack.” I’ll leave you to read Kath’s blog as she describes her chat with him about a movie in which said they were “partners in pain.”

If “World’s Fastest Indian” speeds your way, be sure to see it.

PAD