Le Mans

Starring: Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Luc Merenda
Directed by: Lee H. Katzin, John Sturges
Rating: G
Genre: Action, Sport, Drama
1971

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two famous racers battle against each other during the 24 hours at Le Mans race.

Review:

Tim: Le Mans is a strange movie. It's a good film, but you can tell it had a problematic direction. It's a film that feels a bit lost at times. I read a bit about it afterwards, and it's not a surprise that there was a huge conflict on set. Steve McQueen wanted to make a film with nearly no dialogue, where the cars and the race itself is the star. This is mostly what the film is- there's no audible dialogue for the first 37 minutes, and so little dialogue throughout the entire film. It's bizarre to watch a fiction story shot as if it was a documentary about Le Mans. I've certainly never seen anything like this.

Now, unfortunately, this isn't a documentary. There's no voice over, no narration. And so, the film exists in this awkward middle ground. It's a fiction film with characters, but we learn next to nothing about them. They say almost nothing throughout the course of the film. Whatever scraps of narrative we get, we have to try and piece them together, to make sense of what we're watching. The film gives enough of these tiny tidbits for us to construct at least a frail and loose story. But, without more focus on the characters, the whole film is left feeling cold and underwhelming. I never cared about any of the characters because I didn't know them. I was never given a chance to understand them. So, I never felt an emotional investment in them. This undermines the entire film. How are we supposed to care when we're given so little to work with?

That aspect of the film is so weird, but it doesn't doom the entire production. On the other hand, it's wild to watch a movie like this take such a unique approach. It's impressive of what we can piece together or assume about these characters, when we're given so little to work with. The one benefit of this, is that we're focused to focus on the racing. I've never seen a film like this so overly focused on the race and the cars. That might not be emotionally satisfying, but it's fascinating. It often feels like we're watching a documentary set at Le Mans in the 1970s. I was fascinated by the race, the cars, the approach to racing, the spectators. The movie allows us to take all of this in, to see this world-famous race as it once was. It's stunning that in a film with so little dialogue and minuscule character development, I rarely felt bored. The cinematography, the way this race is captured on screen- it's incredibly compelling. Bizarrely, many of the character-focused scenes are among the worst of the film- we get so little from them, so it feels like a disjointed pit stop for no real reason. Watching cars race like this for 1 hour and 46 minutes wouldn't work, so we do need the character sequences- I just wish the dialogue was better and there was more substantial character development. Watching Steve McQueen walk around and stare isn't that compelling.

I do feel somewhat bad for McQueen, although it really feels like the film is his fault. He wanted this approach with minimal dialogue. His performance is okay, but I never really cared about him. The movie asks us to care without giving us a reason. McQueen did a lot of his own driving, which is wildly impressive. But, he gives us so little from an acting standpoint that he doesn't come away from this film looking that good. Siegfried Rauch could have given a great performance with more screen time- I lamented not getting to know his character better. Elga Andersen could have been better, too- but her stoic, quiet performance isn't enough. She was potentially the most fascinating character in the film- but again, we don't really know.

Fans of racing will likely love Le Mans for some of the best racing footage ever captured in a movie. However, the film would have been better had it had a clearer vision. It's not a documentary, even though it routinely acts like it's one. And, it's not a very good narrative film, because the lip service it provides doesn't go deeply enough. It's a bit of a mess of a film, although it does get some credit for being such a beautiful mess. In the end, I liked Le Mans and I consider it a good film- mostly because of it's bizarre, strange approach to the film. I've never quite seen anything like this. The ending is fine, but it feels unsatisfying. The movie works as a whole, but you have to believe with an actual script beforehand, this could have been an incredible movie. As is, it's a curiosity, an oddity.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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