REVIEWED - THE LAST VICTORY: Dutch film-maker John Appel's pleasant documentary about a Tuscan community's attempt to win Il Palio, Siena's ancient horse race, has something of the quality of a first-class travelogue about it, writes Donald Clarke.
If the film were set in, say, Arklow, and Appel were not able to edit in a pan across a gorgeous piazza every five minutes, then it would - no offence to that Wicklow town - be a much duller affair.
The race, which takes place in the central square of Siena, generally lasts about 80 seconds, but success brings great honour to the victorious district. Civetta has not won for 23 years and its inhabitants, among them the indomitable 92-year-old Egidio, are beginning to think they are cursed.
If the documentary is to be believed, Il Palio obsesses everyone in this prosperous-but-traditional area, from teenage heavy metal fans to war veterans. As we observe the lottery that selects their horses and spy on the dubious dealings between trainers, an agreeable sense of tension and expectation is built up. And, for the most part, the race delivers. Appel cleverly shows us the hysterical reactions of the citizens to the race before we see what it is they are crying or laughing about.
Still, I couldn't help but be reminded of the pretty, gutless documentaries that used to precede feature releases in the 1970s: Terry Wogan's Split, Graham Garden's Tromsø. As beautiful as The Last Victory is, one yearns for just a little bit of insight. Appel might, for a start, have asked how many horses get killed in the alarmingly frequent, terrifyingly brutal collisions.
