A Self Pictures presentation in association with Earthworks Films. (International sales: The Salt Co., London.) Produced by Maria Florio, Molly Lynch, John Maringouin, Kevin Ragsdale, Molly Hassell.
With: Martin Strel, Borut Strel, Matt Mohlke, Alfredo Chavez, Mattea de Leonni Stanonik CQ.
Narrator: Borut Strel.
(English, Slovenian, Portuguese dialogue)
The harrowing, borderline insane adventure of "ultra-marathon" swimmer Martin Strel traversing the entire Amazon river is captured in a comical and eerie style by filmmaker John Maringouin in "Big River Man." A more ideal Sundance doc is hard to imagine, since it contains both overt environmental messages, personal quests and larger-than-life characters that fit the festival's agenda to a tee. Doc's honest refusal to cap the feat with an uplifting tone is to Maringouin's credit, though Stateside buyers may not concur. Global and tube biz should go swimmingly.
Followers of Maringouin's impressive, disturbing feature debut, "Running Stumbled," may not spot the filmmaker's touch in the brightly amusing first 30 minutes, but gradually, as the 52-year-old Martin ventures deep downstream and flirts with his physical limits, the disorienting strangeness of "Running" seeps into "Big River Man," resulting in something much darker than a merely amusing promo reel for the Slovenian swimmer.
Indeed, the film ends up being a close cousin to Werner Herzog's wilder nonfiction tales (particularly "La Soufriere" and "Even Dwarfs Started Small") in their fascination with human extremes and profoundly beautiful and complex images and sound. Adding to this impression is Martin's son, Borut, who narrates in a heavily-accented, unemotional English.
Borut, who handles logistics and promotion for Martin's swims, briefly describes his father's previous marathons, including 58 days in the Danube in 2000, 68 days in the Mississippi in 2002 and 59 days in the Yangtze in 2004. The Amazon run is 1,000 miles longer the Yangtze's.
All were done with the aim of drawing international attention to the horrible levels of pollution filling major continental arteries. In the case of the relatively clean Amazon, Strel's goal is to highlight rainforest destruction and its global effect.
The early passages are shot through with ironic amusement (Martin's fame has earned him a lifetime pass to Europe's largest water park) and absurdity (Martin eats and drinks copiously, resulting in a permanent pot belly), with such insights into Slovenian behavior as the national habit for drunk driving and doing several things at once behind the wheel.
The mood shifts gradually once the swim begins, hinted by Martin's Wisconsin-based amateur navigator Matt Mohlke, who begins to resemble one of the crazed soldiers on the boat in "Apocalypse Now," and by the crew being housed on "the worst boat in Peru."
Whirlpools, snakes, deadly waterborne insects and massive forest debris threaten to kill Martin in an instant if he's not careful, and soon, his sunburned skin resembles (in Borut's words), "fried bacon." Even worse, his refusal to hydrate and insistence on drinking beer and whisky pushes his body to the limit, with his personal doctor Mattea de Leonni Stanonik warning that he's on the verge of a stroke or heart attack.
What Maringouin and his co-director Molly Lynch observe is a son's growing incomprehension of his father's unduly risky behavior. Borut is calmed, however, by his knowledge that Martin has behaved erratically on all of his previous mega-marathons, and survived.
But, when Martin and Matt vanish from the expedition team for a day and are later found wandering naked on a sandy river shore, "Big River Man" enters its final, truly surreal phase.
Maringouin's camera and editing (with Lynch), combined with a brilliant and nerve-wracking score by Rich Ragsdale, work to get a sense of Martin's profound disorientation, and of the strange emptiness and disappointment that hangs over father and son.
The jettisoning of the initial jaunty mood is a commercial risk for the film, which somehow directly matches the intense physical risks made by Martin. The result is a distinct blend of inspiration and caution, making for a complex emotional experience.
Camera (Technicolor, HD video), Maringouin; editors, Maringouin, Lynch; music, Rich Ragsdale; sound (stereo), Chris Maxwell, Russ Jaquith; sound designers, GW Pope III CQ, Brad Whitcanack; supervising sound editor, Michael McDonald; sound re-recording mixer, McDonald; second unit camera, Paul Marchand, James Clauer. Reviewed on DVD, Los Angeles, Jan. 16, 2008. (In Sundance Film Festival -- World Cinema, competing.) Running time: 100 MIN.
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