Martin Strel is a long distance swimmer who has swam the lengths of the Yangtze River and the Mississippi River. In this documentary it is shown how he swims the Amazon River, the deadliest and longest river in the world.
'Why' is the obvious question but once you get to see Strel and learn his story, you quickly understand the reasons. Strel was abused as a child and the story of him running away from his abusive father and swimming an icy river is told as the beginning of Strel's journey.
The 'Heart of Darkness' allusions are pretty much mandatory when discussing Strel and his boat of assistants who go down the Amazon in search of a world record. No one has ever swam the Amazon before. No one had swam the Yagtze or Mississippi before either, but the Amazon of course has more allure and danger.
This is a documentary like "Grizzly Man", the movie wouldn't be at all appealing if it weren't for its unique main character who puts himself in a unique position. Strel is a larger than life figure, he's quite literally overweight, and he's an alcoholic. He's from Slovenia where's he's regarded as a national hero. One of the perks of his fame is that he gets private access to a cave in Slovenia where he meditates and "thinks like an animal so he won't get eaten in the Amazon" The reason people like Strel and Treadwell are interesting to me is that they put themselves in situations where you think they're completely insane but you can't help but root for them. It's part of the human spirit, I suppose. Everyone along the Amazon, in Peru and Brazil, want Strel to succeed and so does the viewer. This makes it a great documentary! Highly recommended.
'Why' is the obvious question but once you get to see Strel and learn his story, you quickly understand the reasons. Strel was abused as a child and the story of him running away from his abusive father and swimming an icy river is told as the beginning of Strel's journey.
The 'Heart of Darkness' allusions are pretty much mandatory when discussing Strel and his boat of assistants who go down the Amazon in search of a world record. No one has ever swam the Amazon before. No one had swam the Yagtze or Mississippi before either, but the Amazon of course has more allure and danger.
This is a documentary like "Grizzly Man", the movie wouldn't be at all appealing if it weren't for its unique main character who puts himself in a unique position. Strel is a larger than life figure, he's quite literally overweight, and he's an alcoholic. He's from Slovenia where's he's regarded as a national hero. One of the perks of his fame is that he gets private access to a cave in Slovenia where he meditates and "thinks like an animal so he won't get eaten in the Amazon" The reason people like Strel and Treadwell are interesting to me is that they put themselves in situations where you think they're completely insane but you can't help but root for them. It's part of the human spirit, I suppose. Everyone along the Amazon, in Peru and Brazil, want Strel to succeed and so does the viewer. This makes it a great documentary! Highly recommended.