Big River Man details
| Formats: | 15 DVD, LOVEFiLM Instant |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Matthew Mohlke, Borut Strel, Martin Strel |
| Director: | John Maringouin |
| Genre: | Documentary - Music |
| Studio: | REVOLVER ENTERTAINMENT |
| Collections: | Inspirational Films |
| Title | Runtime | Certificate | |
|---|---|---|---|
Big River Man |
1hr 37 mins | 15 |
LOVEFiLM Instant Information
| Run time: | 1 hour 37 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | To be confirmed |
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Most helpful review
Big River Yarn, or Darkness Invisible?
By KinniburghKid (26 reviews) from Rudgwick , 19 Jan 2010[Highly rated reviewer]
It could just be a cultural thing (I'm British, they're Slovenian), but there is something staged and false about many of the interviews and long, moody looks in this documentary. That's a shame for there is no doubt Martin Strel is a 53 year old, wine drinking fat man who swam in the Amazon River for 70 odd days. Surely it’s Apocalypse Now without the guns and helicopters. What would be the need to embellish a fascinating story like that?
I followed Martin Strel's swim day by day as he did it in 2007 via his son’s daily posts on the internet. The fascination then and now is why is this man doing it, what is going on in his head all those hours in the water and the even longer hours waiting between swims aboard a dodgy old boat moored amidst the rainforest?
Strel is not an easy man to read. Or like. He drinks, thinks nothing of driving drunk, speeding and parks his car anywhere he likes. He's famous, we are told, so they let him get away with it. George Michael should be jealous, but it's only Strel's son who tells us of this celebrity amnesty. That's the same son who is filmed pretending to be his father for a radio interview, just one of the signals the film maker seems to be sending us not to trust the Strels.
While Strel Jr is clearly a son deep in the shadow of his father, Strel Sr is fascinating. As well as swimming very long rivers and drinking a lot, he is also a flamenco guitar teacher. Such musical skill and expression hints at hide depths to this brut, the suggestion of some artistry, perhaps a Hemmingway-like character.
Is he swimming because he can't communicate any other way? Is he risking his life in polluted rivers because you can't shoot big game any more?
He never tells us, nor does his son's voice-over. The film, having started out seemingly holding up a light to their shallow, attention seeking ways, becomes darker and more enigmatic as it goes along. Just like the river, it gets deeper and wider the further he swims in it.
About half way through I started to feel sorry for the film crew. They must have sensed a great human story they could document, but after weeks on a rusty boat in the jungle they came back with hours of footage of a barely monosyllabic fat bloke and had to make a movie out of it. But then, after it's over, despite my basic questions remaining unanswered, I find I'm still drawn to the subject, even keener to know the inner workings of this man who, consciously or not, starts off an enigma and ends even more of one.
In that respect this film is the opposite of reality TV: Rather than see personalities striped bare for our entertainment, here we watch a man go(apparently) mad doing a (definitely) mad thing, but we are none the wiser as to why. Maybe Strel means enigma in Slovenian.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(11)Disjointed, strange but completely watchable
By a customer , 25 Oct 2012This is a fairly uneven film, full of strange jumps and odd pacing. Nonetheless it is totally compelling due the story and the three characters at the heart of the piece. It's mad and often incredibly funny. Above all, the fact that anyone achieved something on this scale is mind blowing.
Why he did this remains a mystery. Martin is ultimately an enigma. We don't ever get close to him or any real sense of his motivation. The film sheds very little light on why he undertakes the utterly insane undertakings.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Powerful Craziness
By modern_use (4 reviews) , 07 Jun 2012[Highly rated reviewer]
If you're after slick editing, great effects and a sublime soundtrack, then watch something else. BUT if you're after one helluva bat-sh*t crazy story about a wild super-human, check this out! Go Martin Strel!- Was this review helpful to you?
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Four stars for Fishman
By a customer , 23 Apr 2012Ace film, a cross between Apocalypse Now, Grizzly Man and An Inconvenient Truth.
A touching story about one man's journey to achieve the impossible.
Be warned, there are multiple shots of an over-weight man in Speedos. If you're squeamish, look away now.- Was this review helpful to you?
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wtf? i have no idea
By a customer , 25 Nov 2011STRANGE!! was that even a documentary? or blair witch style film?..... INSANE. i have no idea. too strange for words- Was this review helpful to you?
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It may not sound like your cup of tea but you will enjoy watching... 'The Fishman!'
By Kinkyfish (112 reviews) from York, England , 30 Apr 2011Martin Strel is an inspiration to anyone who watches this. And why should you watch this you may ask? Well besides the entertaining fact that he keeps smashing all world records at distance swimming when he is a big fat lad, he also swims carrying with him an environmental message to the world (but not literally, that would be stupid whilst trying to swim).
He also had escort boats that were prepared to pour blood into the river to distract meat-eating fish such as piranhas whilst swimming the Amazon, so why wouldn't you want to watch this film. Pure entertainment with a little drama thrown in for good measure.
And then if that still isn't enough he has announced on the BBC recently that in May 2011 he will tackle the Colorado River in the US to highlight the need to preserve our (meaning the world's) great freshwater rivers.- Was this review helpful to you?
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