Ferrari : omnipresent death for a summer
It’s always been there Michael Mann an absence of heroism in death. What heroism would there be in dying at the wheel of a racing car during simple tests, with the aim of breaking a time record? All under the black gaze ofEnzoFerrari who, immediately after the tragedy, approached his driver’s replacement to tell him that he could join his team. Later, after losing a race, the boss will not be kind to his runners either. Do not want to gentlemenbut men, or rather machines, capable of ignoring fear and who do not slow down if victory is at stake.
This gives a first idea of the character that Enzo was. At least, that’s the portrait Michael Mann paints Ferraria drama that could loosely be described as a biopic, brought forward by an imperial Adam Driverand that the director had in mind since the publication of the novel Enzo Ferrari – The man and the machine (1991) by Brock Yates. Vaguely, because that is the period that interests the filmmaker far from covering the former runner’s entire life at the origin of the most famous Formula 1 team. Just one summer. The one from 1957, when Ferrari existed in the midst of a crisis. The factory risks going bankrupt. The only way to recover is to sell cars. And for this it would take a miracle. A victory for One thousand milesone of the most famous endurance races.
But before he gets there, Enzo will try to ask his wife Laura for money. Because it was together that they created the company. Unless from the loss of his son, Dino, the couple is even more fragile than the Scuderia. So, if he confront death in his professional environment (the dead are counted by the dozens after a terrifying scene, like a memory of the Second World War), Enzo does not distance himself from it even in his private life, since it is by addressing his son, in the funeral chapel, that he gets him rare moments of pacification.
The complex portrait of man
It goes without saying that Michael Mann is known for his signature shot of a man facing the horizon. Often in front of a body of water or in front of the asphalt Pirate. In Ferrarian expert eye will not miss this moment, in line withPirate Exactly. But here, the real moments of introspection, Enzo has them with his deceased son. Because everything arises from this tragedy from which man tried to recover.
For this, he met Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley), his teacher. With her he had the opportunity to build a new life, to have a new family and another son, Piero. But with Laura still in the game, the only one unaware of the truth, it is impossible for the Ferrari boss to put everything together. Like many other Mannian characters before him, Enzo nevertheless tries to compartmentalize every element of his life. But all of these elements will they inevitably clashand Michael Mann announces it everywhere motor racing metaphors.
If he remains faithful to his cinema and his obsessions, Michael Mann therefore surprises with these variations, this evolution of his cinema. It is at this level that Ferrari it is the most interesting. There is no doubt that an uninformed audience will see a shaky, oddly constructed and strangely paced film, and will remember, at best, only the superbly staged racing sequences. For connoisseurs of Michael Mann’s cinema, these variations lead us to go further, perhaps to favor analysis over simple feeling.
An amazing Michael Mann
Both in visual style and overall setting Ferrari, Michael Mann surprises. After touring Hong Kong for Pirateand Tokyo for Tokyo Vice, the director continues to navigate beyond its boundaries. This time he sets his camera in Italy, in Modena, a place at the antipodes of the megacities that the filmmaker has highlighted so many times. Furthermore, the choice to represent Enzo Ferrari far from his glory is not trivial on the part of the filmmaker. Because the team leader, although already highly respected, is never actually in control.
It took some time Collateral see the killer Vincent go off the rails. This, because for all his professionalism, he was no longer completely ignorant of his emotions. From Enzo, in that summer of 1957, the chaos is already environmental. Just like inside The solitaire, Heat and many others, the filmmaker highlighted the excellence of his protagonists in their field. Here the “hero” is the only one who thinks he controls something and does not exude the perfection to which he aspires.
There are stars on the arms of the drivers, who he doesn’t want to see near the cars to avoid them overshadowing the Ferrari brand. Yet it’s impossible to keep them away completely… There’s his illegitimate son that no one should know about. Except that all of Modena already knows it… And that’s his companytries to rule with an iron fist. But she remains dependent on Laura who holds the money.
The latter is also a more important character than she seems. Eminently tragic, Laura (excellent Penélope Cruz) it is decisive for the future of Ferrari. And in what emerges from Enzo’s complex portrait. Michael Mann is not not here to highlight the legend, but to show man, with his defects and his contradictions. Sometimes touching, sometimes scary, he is at the crossroads of personal and professional paths. It is also in the last act of the film, in the moment in which Enzo has to respond to the choice that Laura leaves him, that Ferrari takes on all its meaning and is truly touching. Finally !
Ferrari by Michael Mann, available on Prime Video on March 8, 2024. Above is the trailer. Find all our trailers here.
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
