Renaissance Rollerball is one way to describe the Palio, the bareback horse race that takes place in the Piazza del Campo in Siena in July and August, a tradition dating back at least to the 16th century. Ten jockeys represent their city districts; they ride in traditional colours and costume and the fans are passionate and partisan. The Palio is wildly exciting and dangerous, although there has apparently been just one fatality in recent times: a horse, not a rider. Film-maker Cosima Spender follows the intense rivalry between various trainers generally former star riders themselves, and introduces us to the Palio’s nuances and undercurrents. As one former jockey says: “è un gioco, non è un corso” – “it is a game, not a race”. There is cunning, strategy, dodgy dealings. The horses are assigned by lot, as is the strategically vital position of 10th rider, the “run-in jockey” who effectively starts the race, so there is plenty of scope for payoffs, a mercenary practice conducted more or less in plain sight, although Spender evidently doesn’t see it as her job to investigate this, as such. It is a handsome-looking film, though it has a promo look to it occasionally, like a lavish tourist ad. I loved the horse’s-eye view Spender gave us at one stage, careering around the track.
