I came to Sundance eagerly anticipating this one after reading an article about the most bizarre world record holding athlete. Martin Strel is an overweight Slovenian alcoholic who is the greatest endurance swimmer in the world. Big River Man documents this intriguing concoction through Strel’s greatest feat yet: swimming the entire length of the Amazon river.

Director John Maringouin and his crew followed Strel throughout the entire journey beginning in Slovenia where Strel trained. It is there that we are able to get the foundation for the entire film. Eastern European hilarity ensues as the audience gets a look into the life of this unique man. We see him eat at his favorite horse burger joint, then partake in classic Slovenian multitasking by driving drunk while listening to beginner English tapes and practicing breathing using a device to expand his lungs. The tone is set.

The film is narrated by Strel’s son and manager, who has been with his father every step of the way, from defeating the length of the Mississippi to navigating the Yangtze (the most polluted river in the world). This personalized narration gives the documentary a unique and interesting look into the story of Martin Strel. The footage is brilliantly compiled by the director, but through the narration we get another dimension to the film that could have never been accomplished by an outsider. With narration by a blood relative who breaks the language barrier we get a taste of the culture the man came from, while comprehending his story through the eyes of someone that knows him best and loves him. It is this emotional core of the film that makes the story compelling.

Looking at this guy, the question arises: Why the hell does he do it? He says he swims for love, peace, and environmental awareness. He may raise awareness through the unbelievable publicity that he has gotten, but I think the truth is, Strel does not really know why. With a troubled childhood and an alcohol deteriorated mind, I think something inside of him just forces him to beat his own records and swim rivers that most would call unswimmable. And he truly does not stop swimming. Towards the end of his 66 day 3274 mile swim he started to go mentally insane, he was on the verge of death, and could not walk or talk, but Strel defied doctors, family and friends and kept swimming… and drinking.

Dangerous rapids, animals, insanity, and disease make Big River Mana real adventure. Strel’s journey is truly unbelievable bit it is colored with a variety of characters. An inexperienced, philosophical navigator from Wisconsin, a lazy captain that crashes the boat into banks, and a puppeteer priest that tries to bring Strel out of a post-swim trance are just a few.

Big River Man surpassed my expectations. It tells this incredible story with a fantastic sense of humor balanced with empathy that produces a fully rounded, fulfilling documentary. It is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen and showed me that often times, documentaries can be the hidden gems of Sundance.

Tags: Ben Hamburger, big river man, documentary, sundance film festival

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 17th, 2009 at 9:01 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.