Le Ride

Le Ride is an engaging and captivating 2016 documentary feature film starring Phil Keoghan, an Emmy Award-winning television personality known for his work as the host of the popular reality show, The Amazing Race. This film doesn't stick to the traditional definition of a sports documentary. It's an interweaving of athletic accomplishment with a historical odyssey, thus carving out a distinctive niche for itself in the vast world of cinematography.

Le Ride follows Phil Keoghan and his good friend, Ben Cornell, as they attempt to recreate and undertake the original 1928 route of the renowned Tour de France. The pioneering 1928 Tour de France was groundbreaking and unique, as it was marked by only 41 cyclists, the first English-speaking team to take on the mammoth 5,500 kilometers long course, and one of whom was a New Zealander, Harry Watson.

Keoghan and Cornell's ambitious and physically demanding project is not just about a bike race, but is a heartfelt tribute and undertaking to honor those brave sportsmen who tackled the world's most challenging and grinding cycle race with primitive gear over nine decades ago. The duo sets on this incredible journey astride on vintage bikes from the period, without gears, but with the same relentless will and unfaltering determination akin to Watson and his team.

The film is a compelling fusion of high-paced excitement and the heavy hush of history, with a profound admiration for the original competitors. Not only are Keoghan and Cornell replicating the original route, but they are also doing so with the same conditions—unsealed roads, no support teams, and most significantly, on a vintage steel bicycle, with no gears, ridden by the riders of 1928, which adds an unparalleled layer of authenticity to the whole journey.

Le Ride takes viewers onto a riveting journey through the breathtaking landscapes of France, traversing a variety of settings like the beautiful riviera, past rustic farmhouses and churches, all the way to towering snow-capped majestic peaks. While the scope of France's physical grandeur is stunningly captured, the real value of these scenes lies in portraying the grueling task the cyclists faced—an average of 240 kilometers daily and for one heartbreaking day, a torturous 320 kilometers.

Director Phil Keoghan showcases his inherent passion for cycling and history, bringing out a blend of enthusiasm and tenacity in his attempt to memorialize those forgotten sports figures of the past. In a brilliantly orchestrated narrative, the director doesn't just merely talk about the historical record, rather he sweats it out, bringing life to history with every kilometer. Shot with an explorer's heart and an athlete's grit, the director balances the cinematic scales with the gravitas of a documentary and the adrenaline of a sports film.

Complementing the vibrant visuals is the stirring narrative style that Le Ride espouses. It utilizes a mix of present-day cycling footage, black-and-white archival imagery, illustrated maps, and interspersed interviews. These varying elements come together to produce a documentary that is consistently bold, educational, intriguing, and visually stunning.

A significant aspect of the film is its soundtrack, which manages to simultaneously encapsulate motivation, tension, determination, and a sense of sweeping history. The original music beautifully underscores the varying segments of the journey, be it the moments of triumph or the rough, uphill battles.

At its core, Le Ride is an exploration into the past, a salute to those who dared to challenge the status quo, and a testament to the human spirit and its inexorable resolve. It's a journey that had to be lived to be told, and through their determined endeavor, Keoghan and Cornell breathe life into a forgotten page of sporting history.

Le Ride is a story about companionship, about the spirit of endurance, and about bringing a forgotten narrative back to life. It will inspire you, move you, and most significantly, reveal to you an unmade journey of unprecedented resilience. An ultimate must-watch for history enthusiasts, sports lovers, and those passionate about journeys that knit present circumstances with historical threads, Le Ride is every bit as gripping as it is edifying.