SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL: Middle-aged and grossly overweight, Martin Strel looks like he’d be hard pressed to manage more than a few laps at his local swimming pool—let alone become the world’s most successful endurance swimmer.
Every day, even during his marathons, the Slovenian would drink an unhealthy amount of beer, wine and whisky. Weighing in at more than 200 pounds (90.7kg) and with alarmingly high blood pressure, he was in dire risk of suffering a stroke or heart attack. The former professional gambler (who can’t entirely shake that vice) and part-time flamenco guitar teacher was 45 when he set off on his first mission: a 58-day swim along the Danube in 2000. He followed that feat by traversing the Mississippi in 68 days in 2002, and the Yangtze in 59 days in 2004.
At the age of 53, he took on his greatest challenge: to create history by becoming the first man to swim the length of the Amazon, through spectacular terrain in Peru and Brazil.
Big River Man is a gripping account of that extraordinary journey in 2007, starting with Strel’s training schedule at home in Slovenia, where he swims 20km a day at the local aquatic park, and his mastery of self-promotion as he appears in movies and commercials, plugs his own wine and speaks at conferences. A local celebrity, he’s not afraid of driving while drunk as the cops turn a blind eye.
On his trek he’s accompanied by his son Borut, who serves as his manager/PA/publicist/speechwriter, and a small support crew including his Wisconsin-based amateur navigator Matt Mohlke, a doctor and local tour guide. Strel’s laudable objective is to raise awareness of the destruction of the rain forests, as Borut warns 50 percent of the forests will have disappeared in 20 years, replaced by cattle farms.
The doc is expertly narrated by Strel junior from a script he co-wrote with directors John Maringouin and Molly Lynch. Martin bravely faces numerous hazards including whirlpools, rips, floating trees, snakes, crocodiles, insects and blistering sunburn. As the journey progresses, it’s clear the greatest hazard is to his precarious mental health. His behaviour becomes increasingly irrational and his son fears he’s showing signs of insanity. River fever also has a marked affect on Matt, who starts gibbering about Martin being 'almost Christ-like" and 'the world’s last superhero."
Martin, who speaks poor English, doesn’t say much to camera, but simple statements like 'Bad day for me today" are plenty eloquent as we watch him push the limits of endurance and beyond.
After 66 days he reaches the finishing line at great personal cost, and the doc dwells on the bizarre aftermath as a near Zombie-like Martin watches himself on CNN while clutching a beer.
There were two curious omissions. We don’t see or hear his wife, and her name crops up only once when Borut says she told him Martin suffered nightmares and woke up screaming in the days before he went to Peru. And I wondered how the marathon man occupied his mind through all those long, lonely days; Borut suggests he thinks of childhood memories of swimming away from his abusive father.
This is an inspiring, poignant and remarkable story, brilliantly chronicled by Maringouin (who doubled as the cameraman) and Molly Lynch. Adding another surreal touch, the credits list Olivia Newton John as executive producer.
