This is the true story of an overweight Slovenian alcoholic who sets out to swim the entire 3350 mile Amazon River. At this beginning of the film, I thought the central character was a posturing fool. Around the midway point, something magical happened. I came to view the swimmer as a fool, yes, but a holy fool, sanctified by his suffering and courage. He is a superhero *and* a nut, and what a journey he takes us on.

"Big River Man is a marketing tool for the hard-drinking, overweight Slovenian swimmer Martin Strel, only it's disguised as a global warming awareness tale of human endurance." - Diego Costa

Bizarre. Got the distinct vibe that this is an elaborate mockumentary or something. The narration and weird comedic tone, plus over-mythologizing of Strel, made it seem like quite a tall tale. Quick googling says otherwise, though - still I do believe parts of this were staged and acted out. Unreliable narrator device. Film gets repetitive and is slightly overlong and telling rather than showing re Strel as person. Music grates occasionally. But: it is funny, beautiful and has a good message.

Could have been from Herzog's hand. Unbelievable story of a man's feat of swimming the Amazon and unleashing his inner demons.

Interesting documentary. Very inspirational too. Impressive what Strel accomplished, it's amazing. Some editing of the doc was quite messy though, and I didn't like some of the music. Overall, this doc is pretty good. I wish this man got more recognition

Just imagine a man drinking whiskey instead of water... That's the guy who swam the Amazon River. Amazing.

Certainly a peculiar story worth telling, but I wasn't taken by the odd camera effects and editing.

The middle part of the movie was good, documenting Strel's achievements and really made you feel he's crazy and great at what he does, and it even points out some environmental issues momentarily. Sadly, the first part is way too influenced by Borat which fails hard, while the last part and the fourth dimension thing was just... hilarious in a way, but certainly not touching nor realistic!

If you want to see one documentary this year, do yourself a favour and see this one. It is so beautiful, moving and inspirational unlike anything i've seen in recent times. I've known quite a bit about the man covered in the story, but after seeing it, i can only say i was even more blown away and truly admire people achieving something even with incredible obstacles (personal, mental and physical) ahead of them.

Frequently amusing tale of strange and remarkable folly. This film will no doubt often be compared to Herzog, in terms of both setting and themes. Cleverly edited with good use of music. This and "Running Stumbled" convince me that this director is worth following. Hopefully these two movies won't disappear into the void. Executive producer was Olivia Newton-John.

How can a film about such an interesting and insane subject be so average? Borut Strel's narration seems more concerned with creating a myth out of his father than telling an involving or truthful story, and the film itself is artless and clumsy--how it won a cinematography award at Sundance I don't know. A real let-down: this story had great potential, but it's squandered by filmmakers more intent on creating Herzogian drama than compelling documentary.

Average. An incredible story of a fascinating man regrettably shot and told in such an artless manner that the only thing it inspires is sleep which I fell into twice during the viewing. Not recommended.

fat weird man breaks record, body, family, english

Particularly interesting in how it makes one of the film's subjects complicit in the act of narrative creation by having him contribute to some of the funniest voiceover narration I've ever heard. Reminds of Aguirre, and not just because it takes place on the Amazon. When Strel descended into madness, and the film surprisingly and uninhibitedly followed suit, I was transfixed.