The film “Ford v Ferrari”

I went to see the film “Ford v Ferrari”. The film depicts how Ford challenged Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. And, after all, the relationship of trust between Shelby (Matt Damon) and Miles (Christian Bale) was moving. The decision that Miles made toward the end of the race made me cry.

There was a monologue by Shelby: “The machine becomes weightless. And all that’s left is a body moving through space and time.” with Miles’ s profile while the race. Only car racers may know such a state. Somehow, the 24 Hours of Le Mans resembles a 1000 Day Circumambulation, and the car racer looked as if a priest who completed the training.

To recreate the course of the Le Mans, the producing staff looked for a similar place for several months. Also, they created the stands from scratch. They equipped cameras in the racing car and the filming was done at the same speed as the actual race. So the realism was truly awesome.

In the film, former Ford President, Lee Iacocca, who is also known as the author of “Iacocca: An Autobigraphy” in Japan as well, appeared. The real Lee Iacocca died in July, 2019, at the age of 94, four months before the film was released.

Talking of films of car racers, “Rush” (2013), which depicted a rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda (who died in 2019) was very good, too. (H.S)