Life, Death, Speed and Passion: Michael Mann's "Ferrari" is a Winner

Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari

This past week I went to see Michael Mann's latest film without reading the reviews first. Ferrari! I had watched the trailer and knew I needed to see it, having fallen in love with Italy last spring, and being a longtime fan of Penelope Cruz. Being a lifelong racing fan added to my confidence that I would not be disappointed. And I wasn't. 

The film opens with black and white footage of race cars from what must be the 1920s, the camera close up on the grinning face of a young man driving as fast as he can. That smile... exactly the expression on my face the first time I raced in a stock car. We know the man in the film is Enzo Ferrari, who would one day establish Ferrari as one of the most desired brands in the world for its elegance, performance and history. 

This is not, however, a racing film per se. It's a very human story with combustible emotions and tragic flaws. 

Adam Driver is the embodiment of Enzo Ferrari, the fiery founder of the iconic automobile brand, while Penelope Cruz smolders as Laura, his fiercely loving, yet deeply frustrated wife. The film, like a high-octane race across Italian landscapes and tumultuous decades, plunges us into the heart of Ferrari's world, where ambition and passion threaten to consume him.

The film is an exploration of a complex man driven by obsession, though beneath the steely exterior is an inwardly vulnerable human being full of irreconcilable emotions. Driver captures this duality of Enzo Ferrari who is, on one hand, a visionary, pushing the boundaries of automotive engineering and creating coveted symbols of speed and luxury. On the other, he is an obstinate businessman, haunted by the death of his son and consumed by a hunger for validation. 

The problem many people seem to have with this film is not the film itself, because the script by Troy Kennedy Martin and Brock Yates is (in my opinion) flawless. Rather, the problem is that Driver delivers this duality with serious subtlety, conveying both the chilling charisma of a titan and the vulnerability of a man crippled by grief and even fear. He's already lost a son and is on the verge of losing the Ferrari enterprise as well.

Cruz stands tall beside him as Laura, a woman whose resilience and fiery spirit match Ferrari's own. Their relationship is a tempestuous dance of love, defiance, and betrayal, reflecting the emotional toll of life in the fast lane. Their simmering tensions and explosive arguments crackle with raw emotion, highlighting the price of living in the shadow of a legend.

What's amazing is how much of the story is told in the very brief opening scenes. First we see young Enzo racing, then we cut to a morning bedroom. The man is waking, a woman beside him still half asleep. He rises, dresses and we note that the woman is not Penelope Cruz, though we do not yet know who she is. Cut to: Enzo enters his home in Reggio Emilia a moment later his wife Laura enters the room holding a gun, gives him a dressing down and fires a shot past the left of his head. Message is clear: "Do I have your attention? We had an agreement." 

The gun in Laura's hand immediately brought to mind Chehov's rule about guns. Don't bring a gun into the play unless you intend for it to go off. It doesn't take long for Mann (or Laura) to settle that question.

The scene indeed gets your attention, setting up the roiling undercurrent of Ferrari's personal life. In addition to wrestling with the personal crises he's grappling with, he is also being forced to face up to the potential bankruptcy of the Ferrari factory.  

Michael Mann directed the film and I cannot imagine any other setting that would have worked. The story required being filmed on location.  Nothing captures Italy's allure like those sun-drenched Italian landscapes, manicured trees and gleaming race circuits. Mann went out of his way to capture the feel of 1950s Italy, much of it still there today. On my Italy trip I passed through Reggio Emilia where the Ferarri's home was located. At one point I'd hoped to visit the Ferrari factory while being so near, and would have had I known this film was in the works. Alas. 

Though he knew he was on the verge of bankruptcy, he also knew that winning a major race like the thousand mile Mille Miglia would re-ignite interest in the vehicles he was producing, hence the third component of this story. Racing!

Racing has always been a risky business, but it's unbelievable that back in the fifties they didn't have roll cages or any of the safety features we find on today's cars. Ferrari himself understood the game from first hand experience. He'd also lost friends. He knew both the risks and rewards of the sport.

What makes it a near perfect film is the weaving together of these various strands so that the racing sequences, as well as his philosophical admonitions to the drivers, become a metaphor for Ferrari's internal struggles. I look forward to reading the screenplay some day.

Some might say the film is a meditation on the seductive yet destructive nature of obsessions. I think it's more than that, but for sure it does show how greatness has a sometimes soul-crushing cost.

The reviews at imdb.com are mixed. I suspect that in some cases it's due to the expectations people brought to the film. Here are some of them, with the ratings the reviewers offered:

Brilliant characterisation impressively Italian.      10

This film has some serious flaws.      5

7 1/2 stars really… Penelope Cruz was amazing.          8

Not one of Michael Mann’s best movies but still solid.         6

I was expecting more….      5

Stylish biopic with strong characters and great performances.       9

A lot of missed potential.       6

My favorite of the “Ferrari” movies.        8

Very disappointing.       4

A palpable emotional drama.       8

Intense, vibrant and emotional movie.       10

A misfire on all 12 cylinders.       1

One reviewer said the film lingers long after the credits roll. I agree. I've been thinking about it all week. I have but one regret. That I didn't follow through last April on that inner tug to take a day trip to the Ferrari factory in Maranello while staying in Parma. If I could do it all over again I would have added one additional day to that trip of a lifetime.  

MUCH more can be said here, but this is were I sign off. 

Related Links

Where was Ferrari filmed? Uncovering the real Enzo Ferrari in Italy

16 Stories from My Italy Adventure

Am I Just Going Through the Motions?

That's a question to ask every time you notice that your heart isn't in your work. Am I just going through the motions? It means there's been a disconnect between your actions and your passions.

Did you have a dream you were once pursuing that has now been set it aside because it's too much work? Or it has become boring? Or it feels meaningless?

It doesn't have to be that way.

If this is where you're at today, it may be time to shake your cage, break the locks, open the door and get back on track.

* * * *

Be grateful.
Be wise.
Be open to new possibilities.
Make time to be.

* * * *

BONUS TRACK

W.E.B. Du Bois, 1918

February was Black History Month. It was my intention to share the following poem a couple weeks ago. We really don't need a special month to enjoy poetry by Langston Hughes or music by Nina Simone. The poem here is W.E.B. Du Bois's My Country 'Tis of Thee.

W.E.B. Du Bois was born in 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War. He lived to be 95, so his life overlapped many of our own lives who are Boomers. Du Bois was a sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, author, writer and editor. He went to college in Berlin and at Harvard and according to Wikipedia was the first African American to earn a doctorate.

There were significant differences in the way Black leaders responded to. the repressive and unjust circumstances of the Jim Crow South, just as there is a lack of agreement today on many issues.

My Country 'Tis of Thee
by W.E.B. Du Bois

My country tis of thee,
Late land of slavery,
    Of thee I sing.
Land where my father’s pride
Slept where my mother died,
From every mountain side
    Let freedom ring!

Read the full revision here.

Related Links
The Meeting: A Powerful Play by Jeff Stetson
Fakin' It

The Secret to Finding Life's Sweet Spot

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman

I like the sentiment expressed here. We can often make the mistake of looking outside ourselves for answers to questions that can be only answered within. An example would be students who major in a subject not because it interested them, but because they read an article that said people in that field can make money. Life is long and if you are not into what you are doing for a living, it can be very long indeed.

Find what you're passionate about and you've found life's sweet spot.

For other thoughtful and thought-provoking quotes by Howard Thurman visit Goodreads.

Updike's Four Life Forces

John Updike once suggested that there are four life forces: Love, Habit, Time and Boredom. This morning's ramble here is the product of habit. I'm not sure I have that much to say, and the proper thing to do when you have nothing to say is to shut your mouth. But then, I digress.

When Updike speaks of love he is referring to passion. Passion is the driver that impels us to make sacrifices in order to accomplish great things. Passion is what makes Olympians, not simply skill. There are plenty of pianists with skill, but it's passion that sets apart the cream from the rest.

Time is another one of those amazing things that has been endlessly debated and dissected. What is time really?

Wikipedia explains it this way: Time is the continuing sequence of events occurring in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future, a measure of the durations and frequencies of events and the intervals between them. Time has long been a major subject of study in religion, philosophy, and science, but defining it in a manner applicable to all fields without circularity has consistently eluded scholars.

Like life itself, we all know what it is but don't always do well at explaining it. That doesn't stop people from trying. Here is an interesting article from Wired magazine titled "What Is Time? One Physicist Hunts for the Ultimate Theory." The article is an interview with Sean Carroll, a theoretical physicist at Caltech. He begins by noting something we all have noticed because it is obvious. The future is different from the past. We remember the past but we don't remember the future. Why? 

There was an album we listened to a long time ago called It's A Beautiful Day and it had a song on it about time. At the time I did not know that the most memorable line was actually a quote from Henry Van Dyke. "Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity."

In short, time is perceived differently based on our circumstances. Hence there are some who propose ideas like the notion that time does not exist, it is simply a perception.

The first point, "Time is too slow for those who wait," brings to mind a scene from Immortal Beloved, a film about Beethoven. Beethoven (Gary Oldman) is on his way to a hotel for a tryst with a woman he loves. But it's a rainy night and the wheels on his horse-drawn carriage get stuck in the mud. Time is slipping away and the painful strains of the second movement of his Seventh Symphony fill the theater with his anguish. Eventually, the woman becomes impatient with waiting, and leaves.

Boredom is another of those interesting forces that surprised me when Updike placed it in this list, but it's a real force. Bertrand Russell once observed, "Boredom is... a vital problem for the moralist, since half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it." What strikes me is the last part of this statement. People really do fear boredom. And this may be why some people fear death. What if there really is an afterlife and it was boring? Eternal boredom would truly be hell.

Much more could be said here, but it's time to go to press. Besides, I wouldn't want to bore you with more than you can digest. This is only a blog and I am only sowing seeds, not steaks. Have a great day.

What the World Really Needs

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman

I like the sentiment expressed here. We can often make the mistake of looking outside ourselves for answers to questions that can be only answered within. An example would be students who major in a subject not because it interested them, but because they read an article that said people in that field can make money. Life is long and if you are not into what you are doing for a living, it can be very long.

Find what you're passionate about and you've found life's sweet spot.

Buzz Aldrin: He’s Still Out There

One of the most powerful autobiographies I read two decades ago was Buzz Aldrin's Return To Earth (1973). Aldrin, the second human to put foot on the moon, candidly talks about the dream, the fulfillment of that dream, the pressures he was under at the time, and his regrets, because here he was, standing on the moon, but with eight hours of tests to conduct in four hours he couldn't just take a deep breath and take it in. A man is not a machine or a robot, but has a soul and heart, and fifteen seconds to stand in awe was not enough.

The pressures didn't let up after the return. These guys, Armstrong and Aldrin, and several others that followed in their footsteps, were paraded around the globe as international heroes, an "in your face" statement that we had achieved the impossible and we had done it first. This was Cold War posturing, and like good little foot soldiers Aldrin & company were expected to play the game. The strain of maintaining a happy face while feeling alienated and inwardly confused proved too much for Aldrin, and a nervous breakdown swept him out of the limelight.

The book is candid, and illuminating because of its candor. One of Aldrin's regrets was that he kept his mouth shut while NASA was making certain bad decisions. As result Aldrin, at age 80, has determined to be more vocal about the direction NASA is going as it pursues a second lunar space race.

The August issue of Popular Mechanics carries a feature story by Buzz Aldrin called "A Bolder Mission." Aldrin states emphatically that the current plan is too timid. Our sights need to be set on Mars.

I know many people who question the space program's viability altogether. Other than prestige, warm fuzzies and a few moon rocks, what do we get? Supporters will point to all the technology advances that emerged from the initial space race.

But Aldrin, who even invented a concept called the Mars Cycler that will get us to Mars more efficiently, is adamant that NASA must reconsider its trajectory over the next 25 years. In a CNN piece he states, "What we truly need is not more Cold War-style competition but a destination in space that offers great rewards for the risks to achieve it. I believe that destination must be homesteading Mars, the first human colony on another world.

"By refocusing our space program on Mars for America's future, we can restore the sense of wonder and adventure in space exploration that we knew in the summer of 1969. We won the moon race; now it's time for us to live and work on Mars, first on its moons and then on its surface."

It's obvious that for many, this is their life passion. This makes them very persuasive. But is this where our tax dollars should go? Actually, Aldrin even has an answer for that. If lunar exploration fails to pay for itself with what it discovers there, then it should be scrapped.

In the meantime, what do you think?

Get In The Game

On Sunday our pastor preached on this theme, saying that it's time to get in the game. The message resonated with me because it seems like there are simply too many people content to sit in the stands and watch as spectators. Or to sit on their couches or their duffs or whatever... waiting for the next thing to happen, instead of making it happen.

Life is for living.

The message Sunday was about Christians who expect the clergy, pastors and priests to do the work of ministry. But this blog post is intended to prod all of us to get get passionate about making a difference in the world. There are needs all around us. And each of us has different abilities or strengths. It's time to get out of the stands and into the field of play.

Maybe your thing is business. Excel in that and you can employ others whom you train and help get into the career game. There are a lot of talented, smart people who have been hurt by this past year's economic turmoil. If you can make money and employ even a few of these good people you will have made a huge difference.

Maybe you're an artist. By creating and sharing your work you inspire others with creative gifts. Don't quit. Stay in the game. We need art, lest the entire Western world become a sterile white walled environment with no character.

If you're a musician, follow that passion and let others be swept up in the music. Music can help people forget their pain. Music can fill the long voids in a sorrowing heart. Music can inspire action... or reflection. Music can make people laugh and smile. Stay with it. Find new ways to share it. We need your gifts.

Writers, don't despair. There are some who will say it's all been said before. Yes, this may be true, there's "nothing new under the sun" on one level. But on another level, we need your voices, your words, the prismatic revelations of your hearts on paper and/or monitor screens. Nothing new? Every moment in time everything is new, and this world is exploding with newness. New stories being experienced, new stories that need to be told.

Journalists, stay in the game, because the politicians need watchdogs.

And if your calling is to the political arena, don't despair at the ethical contortions and inefficiencies of government. At all levels we need people with good hearts who have the courage to get in the game and stay in the game. Don't give up. You can make a difference....

Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, Derek Jeter, Pablo Picasso, Mother Theresa, Jack Nicholson... we know their names because they were not spectators in life. There are millions of others who are lesser known, who are also seriously pursuing their callings or dreams. We do not know their names, but we see the fruit of their passion.

If you're just watching, and drifting... wake up! There's work to be done. Get stirred and make a difference. Get in the game.

By What Measure?

"So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence." ~ Bertrand Russell

It's an interesting comment. On one level it reveals a value system that is common among many intellectuals. Intelligence has high value.

But in the Gospels, there are other values of importance. Being good, for example. Or being compassionate. Or being wise. There are so many educated fools that the very expression has become a byword.

I remember listening to a mean spirited diatribe by Andy Rooney against Mel Gibson and his film Passion of the Christ a few years back on Imus in the Morning. Rooney essentially dissed Gibson and the film because "the smartest man of the last century, Bertrand Russell" was an atheist.

So there you have it. A smart man's ideas are more valid than a holy man's. What do we do, then? Give everyone I.Q. tests to decide who gets to declare what we should all believe? It's nonsense. Newton was a smart man, and a Christian.

Sir Isaac Newton has been near universally ranked as the greatest mathematician of all time. Of Newton, Einstein said, "Nature to him was an open book, whose letters he could read without effort."

So?

This only proves that smarts does not bring us all into agreement. One difference between Newton and Russell, however, might be that Newton was quite humble about his smarts. Before his death he remarked, "I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." I doubt either claimed to have perfect knowledge. And maybe Russell would have been embarrassed to have Andy Rooney put him on a pedastal like that.

There was a time when I thought being smart was the thing to be. I looked down on people who couldn't spell. Then, in college I met a guy who was valedictorian in his high school and lo, he was an atrocious speller. He wanted to co-write a play with me because I was an excellent speller and he felt I could communicate his message more effectively than he.

This threw a monkey wrench into my notion of smarts. And later when I learned he raped (at the time it was "heavy coercion") a friend of my girl friend, more head spins were occurring for me. Personal character has to be part of the equation.

By what measure, then, should we be measured? I can't recall anyone saying Mother Teresa, St.Francis of Assisi or Gandhi's significance had something to do with I.Q. Where did this strange measure come from?

There are other faulty measures of value, too. But it's getting late, and before too much fog settles in I'm going to pass on that.