The aspirational legacy of one man is by no means that of another, but regardless, that desire to leave that historical residue is equally pertinent within us. A man of many words, my father once told me:
“If you want something and you don’t get it – either you don’t want it enough or you’re not willing to pay the price.”
Lack of desire most certainly was not the case with Bruce McLaren, who’s passion to realise his dreams ultimately ended up costing him his life – but by no means in vain. To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the brand, McLaren have released the first of three specially commissioned short films celebrating Bruce McLaren’s audacity, ingenuity and the ongoing story of his legacy.
Instead of focusing on the high-tech, high-octane world of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team, or the Group’s new Automotive division and its groundbreaking 12C and McLaren P1TM, the short film sheds light on McLaren’s very human back-story – namely that of Bruce McLaren, who founded his racing team five decades ago.
Directed – sensitively – by Marcus Söderlund1, the short film forms part one of the 50th anniversary trilogy following the ghost of Bruce McLaren as he retraces the scene of his crash at the Goodwood circuit in 1970 – the crash that tragically cost Bruce his life aged 32.
“Bruce McLaren wrote the beginning of the story, and the legend is going to continue for many years to come. I’m only a chapter, not the book, and I want other people to come in and write their own chapters as time goes by. This is a book that’s still being written, and that, perhaps, is the greatest legacy of McLaren.” – Ron Dennis CBE, executive chairman, McLaren Group & McLaren Automotive
Parts two and three of the McLaren short film trilogy will be released in due course; we await them with great anticipation.
- Born in Bergsjon, a suburb north of Gothenburg, Marcus Söderlund graduated in film and direction from Gothenburg University in 2007 and that same year won a Kodak Cinematography Award. His music videos have since been nominated for 4 Swedish Grammy’s and his promo for The Tough Alliance’s “Silly Crimes” was featured on Pitchfork’s list of The Top 50 Music videos of the 2000s. Marcus has gone on to work with artists like The XX, Miike Snow and Fibes, Oh Fibes. ↩
