Journey to Le Mans

So many horrible reviews! Wow. It's not that bad. I agree that there are scenes that are re-used, and the soundtrack is a mis-match, in my opinion. Maybe they had to fill a time slot and therefore put in extra/filler scenes? This should be a documentary that fits in a 60 minute slot, not over 90 minutes. That would help. But I still enjoyed journeying with the team members as they attempted to win races and then to make it to the top at Le Mans. Maybe since I'm an amateur racer I was able to get into it more easily than some viewers, I don't know. And I get tired the hype and glamour surrounding the zillion dollar F1 and LM juggernauts. Going along with a smaller team and vicariously experiencing their ups and downs as they go for it felt good to me.

Amateurish attempt to hype on team (Jota) with generic cacophony of visual snippets and uninspired collection of quotes from participants. No insight into racing, management, Le Mans... a sad, self-indulgent waste of time.

This has been lingering on my Netflix to-watch list and I finally got around to it. Being a bit of a car guy and racing fan, I sincerely wanted to like "Journey to Le Mans" (2014) I didn't. It just did not do anything for me. Being about a small privateer team, it already offers a unique perspective wholly different from "Truth in 24". Why oh why then does it try so hard to ape that nuts and bolts 'these are the facts laid bare' type of storytelling? Trying to do that with this team using far fewer filmmaking resources just doesn't work. It's clear the filmmakers couldn't show up for every race meet, every practice, every team meeting and walk through-talk through. They haven't got the firepower. And yet they still try to pull off a story about building up to the big race using a patchwork of mostly generic laps and repetitive crew footage devoid of emotion. What is supposed to be the powerhouse and cache of Patrick Stewart and Tiff Needell end up being a crutch it leans on in order to patch up missing race/event coverage. Such weaknesses needn't be deficiencies. If only more focus was put towards zeroing in on emotion. If only the filmmakers concentrated on the team principals' love for the sport, about what drives them, why they put in so much time money and effort towards racing. If only they showcased how they FEEL, then maybe we too, the audience, can feel. See: "Love The Beast" with Eric Bana. Alas, I only came off feeling as though the filmmakers had done a disservice to the interviewees: They all come off as being boring storytellers. To interview someone is to ask them to tell a story. Unfortunately everyone seems to be the type to not expand on their feelings and motivations, who aren't open to talking about how they feel, and just would not open up about which part of their childhood influenced (and continues to influence) this desire, this drive towards victory in the rarefied field of Le Mans top finishers. I mean, there was this part about Simon Dolan being kicked out of school and then... I don't know, pursuing education on his own terms??? He's an accountant, which means his credentials are no joke, even if his education is unconventional and or self taught. Maybe the guy is a supreme autodidact, which means he has in him an amazing story, an amazing journey to share to the audience. Yet I barely got to know him. I had to read about him in another article just to fill in the blanks of "who is this man, and why should I be rooting for him to win?" Being that I ended up knowing so little about his personality, his family life and how he is as a person, all I know is that he seems to be someone who I'd trust with money, an airline, and yes, a racing team. But I would not anchor my story on him.

Right on the spot. Dreams have no brand. A Humane and heart felted documentary. A never surrender lesson. A triumph over corporations and big motor companies. The hell with racing tech and progress and all that bull we always have to see in this kind of documentaries. This one is about people fighting for their dreams. The way it should be.

Those documentaries made by mainstream "culture channels" are basically made for people who know little or nothing on a specific subject or sport. Great for my sisters to learn on car racing... That is it! This piece is not even that. I simply could NOT deal with the fact that this is a BAD promotional film for JOTA. Not that JOTA is a bad team. not at all. My out most respect for such a young team. BUT trying to be thrifty and NOT buying the rights for important clips from FIA or whoever to show key overtakes which are actually narrated on the film or not showing the events they discuss, well in a car racing film or documentary it is the equivalent of watching "Toy Story" without Woody. As to discussing technical stuff or even basic explanations, it is a total fail. C'mon! You guys wanted to promote JOTA Racing but you ended up promoting well... pit stops and the faces of your drivers. HUGE BUMMER. Get a better PR adviser next time.

I know nothing about Le Mans so I had no preconceived ideas about what to expect from this. To say I enjoyed it would be an understatement! A fantastic insight into the event and what it takes to get there and to compete. Some have said it was very one sided as it only followed one team, and that is correct, but that is what it was meant to be about anyway. Enjoy it for what it is. (Warning: TT3D is the same, so don't complain about that one when you see it!!!!) What really made this a great watch though was the cinematography! Superb camera use, footage and techniques. Loved it! If you're a racing fan, then I highly recommend this....

This looks like a movie paid by the team itself. Not for petrol heads, as it fails to show the interesting aspects of motor sport, which usually doesn't happen on the racetrack. Eg: a huge crash destroys the car 2 weeks before a big race. 30 seconds explanation of "how we got our s**t back together and rebuilt the car"...well, that's quite an accomplishment to dig deeper in, no? why skipping? Also: - plenty of scenes are repeated. Cheap way of filling time? Don't show me driver #1 entering a corner, overtaking that blue car, then going in the pits to change the driver, then to see driver #2 overtake the same car in the same spot. If you used the same shot twice in 3 minutes i will notice and get annoyed. Then I write a review about the movie because you're wasting my time and i'm bitter. - the music chosen sounds like it was bought at Walmart (or Lidl in Europe). If you want to make a serious movie you can't cheap out on this. These aspects really ruin a movie which I was looking forward to see, and will ruin to you too.

How documentarians always manage to film something when a big event is about to unfold is beyond me. This was a good movie and gave a great inside look into Le Mans. The direction is decent, however, you don't get the full feel of the races they show or the speed these cars achieve. It could have been aided from the use of Go-Pro or their equivalent in this instance. I also would have liked to have had more of an inside look into what is JOTA and more background information about the racers, Only major gripe is the soundtrack is terrible, it belongs in a Disney movie.