The World's Fastest Indian

Almost 40 years after making his film debut in a Lindsay Anderson short, Anthony Hopkins shows no signs of slowing down.

The World's Fastest Indian is a heart-warming real life tale of determination and perseverance in the face of adversity. As ever, Hopkins commands the screen as an eccentric enthusiast with a heart condition who leaves his home in New Zealand to embark on an extraordinary adventure of self-discovery.

"You live more in five minutes on a bike like this than most people do in a lifetime," gushes his geriatric racer, who gives his machine added pep by dropping a heart pill into the gas tank.

It's one of his most subtle performances in years, creating a lovable larrikin whose gentle spirit and pure heart overcome all obstacles.

The World's Fastest Indian recounts the charming true story of Burt Munro (Hopkins), whose lifelong dream is to travel to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and set a new land speed record on his lovingly restored 1920 Indian Twin Scout.

With the support of the locals, especially next-door neighbour Tom (Murphy), Burt embarks on the round-the-world-journey, meeting lovable characters along the way including gender-bending hotel receptionist Tina (Williams) and a lonely spinster (Ladd).

The film is a little on the long side, but it pushes all the right emotional buttons.

The final scenes in Utah, when Burt hurtles across the salt plains into the records books, leave a lump in the throat. His 1967 speed record remains unbroken to this day.