John Maringouin’s documentary about Slovenian Martin Strel’s attempt to swim the Amazon starts like a Borat-style spoof and ends as Fitzcarraldo in Speedos.
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09/04/09
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Big River Man (2009)
92
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:23
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Big River Man offers uniquely absorbing insight into a larger-than-life eccentric.
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release:Dec 4, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: In February 2007 Martin Strel began an insane attempt to be the first person to swim the entire length of the world's most dangerous river, the mighty Amazon. Martin is an endurance swimmer from... [More]
Director: John Maringouin
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Reviews for Big River Man
We never truly understand what goes on in his mind but all the hazards and heartbreak of his epic swim make for fascinating viewing.
09/04/09
A bizarre, occasionally troubling documentary.
09/04/09
Inspiring, funny and dramatic, this green-hued film has a genuine broad appeal.
08/07/09
This chronicle of his swim is fuzzy and flaky: the implication is that Strel, exhausted and delirious from his efforts, suffered a mental breakdown. His story requires a comparable narrator: one wonders what Werner Herzog might have done with it.
09/04/09
If Werner Herzog had made ‘Borat’, the results might have been something like this documentary about the unusual athletic overachiever Martin Strel.
09/04/09
An engaging, scenically spectacular documentary about one of the world's most extraordinary eccentrics.
09/04/09
Whether you understand Borut's patchy storytelling to be artful or actually bewildered, the film goes along for the ride.
12/04/09
A nonfiction Fitzcarraldo.
12/02/09
Big River Man is a marketing tool for the hard-drinking, overweight Slovenian swimmer Martin Strel, only it's disguised as a global warming awareness tale of human endurance.
11/30/09
It’s a messy film — a few scenes look to be reconstructions, and the lack of any interview with Strel himself is frustrating — but it certainly shows us a colourful part of life’s rich tapestry.
09/07/09
The real drama lies in the sweetly twisted symbiosis between this likable, infuriating wreck of a man and his devoted son and publicist.
12/02/09
Top CriticFor all the straight-faced self-mockery, it somehow remains a tribute to an exceptional man. Big River Man gets away with its archness only because it’s evident that somewhere beneath its layers of irony, there is a beating heart.
09/04/09
Big River Man is as close to documentary perfection as possible. Tough and vulnerable Strel is masculinity incarnate, and his quest gestures beyond his beloved red wine and beer and towards the mystical. Astonishing.
09/04/09
As his attention to detail and beauty shots prove, Mr. Maringouin has a terrific eye: he brings you close to Mr. Strel, sometimes within panting distance, without forgetting the larger, lovelier world.
12/04/09
Entertaining more as a portrait of a slightly unhinged sportsman than the biography of stunt.
09/04/09
A strange, moving and unforgettable film.
09/04/09
There is a general air of contrivance as well as connivance on the part of the filmmakers. Best are the scenes of primitive quetitude that seem to take place outside the perimeters of the film altogether.
09/04/09
The man is a mad obsessive and one is surprised that he hasn't ended up in the exotic trophy room of Werner Herzog, whose films Big River Man resembles.
09/07/09
This is one of the most entertaining, riveting docs you'll ever see.
09/04/09
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