The film showing on Sunday 14th January at Corrie Film club is The World’s Fastest Indian (Dir. Roger Donaldson. 2005. Cert. 12A). 7.30pm at Corrie and Sannox village hall.
For twenty-five years in Invercargill, New Zealand, Burt Munro (1899-1978) played by Anthony Hopkins, has been working on increasing the speed of his motorcycle, a 1920 Indian. He dreams of taking it to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, to see how fast it will go.
By the early 1960s, heart disease threatens his life, so he mortgages his house and takes a boat to Los Angeles, buys an old car, builds a makeshift trailer, gets the Indian through customs, and heads for Utah.
Along the way, people he meets are charmed by his open, direct friendliness. If he makes it to Bonneville, will they let an old guy on the flats with makeshift tires, no brakes, and no chute? And will the Indian actually respond?
Based on a true story, in 1967 Burt attempts the impossible, using his dream bike to set a new world record for speed.
Featured image by Denise Jans on Unsplash