Went to see an amazingly brilliant movie last night. Le Mans 66. That’s what its called and, pretty much what its about. Yet its not really a ‘car race’ film. Though that is somewhat represented, obviously. But its a film about friendship. About the ‘corporations’ against the little guys. About the ‘maverick’ dudes. And its about a guy from Birmingham who wins that Le Mans race (but you need to see the film for total clarification of that) even though he’s a ‘difficult character’ and anathema to all the ‘suits’ at the Ford Motor Company, who are not portrayed in any kind of good way. It’s also about the massive rivalry between Ford and Ferrari. Which is a rather odd rivalry when you consider those two marques and what they represent. And its a ‘true story’ but as its American, you really don’t know how flexible they were with the ‘truth’.

Christian Bale plays the driver, Ken Miles, and Matt Damon plays Carroll Shelby, the racing driver who had to quit due to health reasons and went on to invent the AC Cobra and whose name appeared on all kinds of amazing muscle cars in the 60s and 70s. So you’d have a Ford Mustang. Or a Mustang GT. Or a Mustang GT350 Sport. Or, if you were a totally insane speed-freak obsessed with ridiculously over-powered monster engines, you’d get the Mustang Shelby. His name represented excess and madness. Which is why I love him. And why Ford employed him to run their race team. Though Carroll won Le Mans in 1959 in an Aston Martin, which didn’t hurt his credentials.

Christian Bale is a screen wonder. He just exudes… stuff. Good stuff, bad stuff, all kinds and here, in a Brummy accent. Damon is wonderful, funny, superb. The racing cars are great, if ya like that kind’a thing. And I do. I really do. But not quite as much as I love all the other sundry vehicles just driving round the streets, parked outside houses, just… there.

I’d also like to state for the record, and in the interests of impartiality and the salvation of our planet, that Mel really loved this film. She’s not a petrol head. She doesn’t get an erection when she hears a supercharged V8 start up and she barely knows the difference between a GT40 and C3PO. She also struggles with long films yet this one is two-and-a-half hours long and she neither complained nor slept.

My fantastic dad celebrates his 95th birthday today. Amazing man. Surrounded by generations of love.

Happy Birthday Moishe

A xxxx