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You have to give the makers of “Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia” credit for their honesty in describing their “inspired by true events” drama. Not only do they offer twice in the closing credits the standard disclaimers about invoking dramatic license and inventing some characters out of whole cloth. To make sure we fully understand how fast and loose they have played with reality, they cap things off thusly: “This film cannot be considered a faithful description of facts.”
The challenge is that the film rarely offers a very captivating or even compelling description. It is primarily a competent but uninspired review of the events leading up to and during the series of globe-trotting races that made up the 1983 World Rally Championship, with the greatest concentration remaining constant on Cesare Fiorio, the fiercely competitive Italian Lancia team principal.
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This narrative imbalance is completely surprising, given that Firori is played by Riccardo Scamarcio (“John Wick: Chapter 2,” “A Ghost in Venice”), the Italian-born actor who was also a producer and co-writer of the film. . Not only are all the maximum production lines given; It also controls the maximum amount of screen time. It would be uncharitable and not entirely accurate to describe “Race for Glory” as an immodest project. But there’s no denying that there’s very little interest when it’s not on screen. .
Indeed, the most memorable scene not involving Scamarcio occurs when another character — Roland Gumpert (Daniel Brühl), manager of Team Audi — angrily reacts to what he sees as egregious rule-bending by Fiori: “Those noodle munchers tricked us!” A funny line, though arguably not as amusing as Fiori’s snarky dismissal of a libation native to his rival’s homeland: “You know how to tell German wine from vinegar? Read the labels.”
A few extra moments of comic relief like those would have gone a long way toward reviving “Race for Glory. “The actual racing sequences are little more than pedestrian, especially when compared to the impressive pedal-on-steel action in “Rush” (which also starred Brühl), “Ford vs. Brühl. “Ferrari” and, yes, “Ferrari. ” Meanwhile, off-road stages most commonly consist of a menacing-looking Fiori pondering with his team on tactics for rebuilding their race cars and/or, watching progress at rallies around the world and (with a slightly less somber look and a little more charisma) convincing driver Walter Röhrl (Volker Bruch) to drive.
It’s more than a little annoying that the movie doesn’t spend more time with Röhrl, a character who’s allowed only to fleetingly tease us with his complexities. Happily retired, he rebuffs Fiori’s offer of employment by claiming to be “tired of winning” and being in the spotlight. The movie suggests his health may be the real issue — specifically, the increasing sensitivity of his eyes — but neither he nor Fiori ever directly discuss this. Nor does Röhrl ever fully explain why he wants to pick and choose among rally races in which he will drive — yes to Monte Carlo, no to Sweden, and so on. Fiori grudgingly accepts this seemingly prima donna behavior, until he doesn’t.
Another supporting character who deserved more was Jane McCoy (Katie Clarkson-Hill), a nutritionist who turns out to be the daughter of a driver killed in a twist of fate two decades earlier. Despite her bad memories, she becomes engaged when Fiori goes insane. He hires her to make sure that all of her team members are in tip-top shape as they move from career to career. Surprisingly, none of the men object to his dictates related to food and bedtime. Even more surprising, McCoy and Fiori maintain a respectful relationship. and a purely professional relationship, without any spark of romantic charm ever being ignited. It’s good to see at least one shot cleverly avoided.
Like the main character in “Ferrari,” Fiori works under pressures that have less to do with speed and more to do with promotion. His Lancia team is funded through Fiat, the Italian automaker that needs to boost car sales through race wins. The challenge is that, at the beginning of the film, the Lancia team hasn’t been doing everything it can lately. To defeat the well-funded Audi team, Fiori will have to do what he loves most: win. Which brings us to all the communication about escape valves, technical peculiarities, and many other things that will warm the hearts of gear lovers around the world.
Through all the jargon, pre-rally mobilizations, and the recruitment of reluctant team members, Scamarcio’s tireless functionality proves to be an advantage. Here and elsewhere in “Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia,” he more or less single-handedly drives the film by vividly and strikingly conveying Fiori’s obsessive attitude and his fight for victory, even if Fiori remains focused on that point. tunnel vision. When asked about the danger inherent in his sport, he replied: “Death is afraid of those who practice it. Instead of waiting for it, we run after it. And off he goes. At that point, he’s a lot like a guy who’s completely convinced of anything and to hell with everyone else.
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