Dana Brown, the sports documentary filmmaker nonpareil—and son of Bruce Brown, who directed legendary docs on surfing (The Endless Summer) and racing (On Any Sunday) a generation ago—adds to his own solid filmography (Step Into Liquid) with this sequel to his 2005 Dust to Glory. With the outlandish setting resembling that of an epic action feature—think Mad Max: Fury Road—the film chronicles the Baja 1000, an extreme annual off-road race founded in 1967 that takes place on a truly hazardous course on the Baja California Peninsula, and is open to all kinds of souped-up cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, and buggies. Brown gives the audience a sense of being omnipresent over a vast stretch of Northwest Mexico, somehow catching footage of vehicles flipping over and other disasters as they happen. But he doesn’t just compile racing footage for armchair competitors; he also immerses viewers in a specific, half-century-old racing culture with its own rituals, sights, sounds, deep emotions, community, and traditions. From amputee veterans to off-the-clock businessmen to married couples to professional racers, the Baja 1000 features a wealth of stories and interesting characters. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh)
Dust 2 Glory
Magnolia, 98 min., not rated, DVD: $26.99, Blu-ray: $29.99, Oct. 16 Volume 34, Issue 1
Dust 2 Glory
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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