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rationalist47
Reviews
Le grand voyage (2004)
Failed to meet my modest expectations
This movie fails as a vehicle to show how a culturally distant father and son come to understand each other better. It fails at giving a sympathetic view of Islamic culture - of course that is an almost impossible task. It does provide an intimate look into the dysfunctional relationship between a small minded rigid bigoted father and a son who has a broader vision, and may overcome the cultural myopia the old man tries so hard to instill. It is made more tolerable by the interesting locations. I found the car more interesting than either of the characters. At least the movie had a happy ending. I'm not sure whether the film maker has little to say, or just doesn't know how to say it.
The Art of Travel (2008)
Immature production with few saving virtues
This film is composed of elements that appeal to me but I was disappointed. The acting is journeyman quality and the cinematography is professional. The story is generally juvenile and poorly detailed, with some exceptions. Those good scenes made viewing less painful. The plot development tries, but fails to achieve a coherence and fails to allow the characters to become real. This leaves the movie as an 18 year old's fantasy of what he could do if he left his home town in anger and embarrassment and had hot chicks falling for him through a series of adventures while traveling on money provided by a cool dad living vicariously. The young hero accomplishes nothing on his own merit except for saving the trans-Darien expedition from a guerrilla band in a scene that rings so phony it would have worked better as a dream sequence. This is not a retelling of the universal stories of transformation through adversity or rites of passage. Although the central character grows a beard and looks older by the end of the movie he has not matured. Likewise, decent acting and production values have not created a mature or compelling film.