airmax 95 Review of Big River Man

Like a adaptation of [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]Apocalypse Now directed by Werner Herzog, Martin and members of the team begin succumbing to delirium. Martin rants and raves and remains complacent despite his declining health condition. Matt experiences an episode of religious mania relating Martin to Jesus, the jungle to heaven, the river to purgatory and mankind as hell. Martin constantly goes missing and later he and Matt go AWOL and are found naked and unapproachable on a sand bar up river.
Quirkier than Fiction
At 53 Martin Strel just doesn’t fit the profile. He’s an overweight, alcoholic, flamenco-guitar teacher who used to be a professional gambler. However he is also the world's greatest endurance swimmer. His celebrity status in Slovenia maintains Strel a close relationship with Slovenia’s president, allows him to drive drunk, park wherever he wants and enjoy a free lifetime membership at one of Europe’s largest water parks where he trains 5 hours a day.
The documentary exhibits the physical and mental fortitude it takes an individual to tackle such a massive undertaking. The damage the swim causes Martin concerns his crew greatly, but as Borut explains, the madness his father experiences is a common occurrence on his swims and is probably the reason he manages to complete them. The only problem with this is that we don’t get a good insight into Martin’s personal mindset as there is little dialogue provided by him.
Heart of Darkness
Aboard the worst boat in Peru
Strel is joined on his swim by equally comical characters. His son Borut Strel serves as his manager and publicist and narrates the documentary in a monotonous English reminiscent of a Jacques Cousteau monologue. Borut provides the brains of the pair and often gives telephone interviews to the media and sponsors as his father to provide assurance. Matt Mohlke is the team’s unqualified navigator who plays poker at night and pushes shopping trolleys by day and frequently loses the teams position due to his inexperience.
Transforming from man into monster, Martin swims drunk and constantly soils his wetsuit. His increasingly concerned on board doctor discovers parasites in his brain and lungs and advises that he must abort the swim or he could suffer a stroke or heart attack. But like the iron man he is, he persists.
The swim is of course fraught with difficulty. Early on, Martin succumbs to a badly strained shoulder and 2nd degree sunburn that leaves his skin resembling “cooked bacon” to which Borut devises “a genius and original idea” of forming a white face covering effectively terrifying the locals but adding to Martin’s publicity.
Read on
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The Pakaas Jungle Lodge in Brazil's Amazon
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Martin Strel Unlikely Hero
Royalties such as these are usually awarded to the best and the brightest yet Mr. Strel has earned his spurs regally. His long distance swimming résumé includes the Danube [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the Mississippi, the South American Paraná River, and the Yangtze—one of the most heinously polluted rivers in the world. His prestige hasn’t altered his lifestyle however; he still gambles, drinks at least 2 bottles of red wine a day and fuels his fat stomach with mouthfuls of horse meat.
Riddled with parasites, giant floating trees, whirlpools, crocodiles, piranhas, snakes and the dreaded 'penis fish' - the Amazon is no ordinary river. And despite his unlikely lifestyle, Martin Strel is no ordinary man. Big River Man tells the story of Strel's quest to swim the Amazon [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], South America's majestic 3,300 mile long river.
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