Palio

This is a gripping and informative documentary about the bareback horse race run twice a year in Siena. Director Cosima Spender is in the same territory as 2004's The Last Victory, but she goes one better by getting up-close access to the jockeys who race around the murderous piazza where the city's rival districts assemble to cheer on their champions. We meet the young buck being mentored by a retired champ, and also the current top dog, a gristly 13-time winner cusping middle age but unlikely to go down without a fight. It's a classic underdog sports movie gambit and by the time the brutal and mercifully short race gets underway, we're as invested in the outcome as if we had money on the result - though it would be a brave soul who took a punt on a race this thoroughly, and openly, corrupt. Picturesquely shot, tightly edited and re-purposing some old Ennio Morricone soundtrack music to spaghetti-western effect, this is an eye-opening documentary that can be enjoyed with or without previous knowledge of horses or horse racing.