Sunday, December 07, 2014
Going home
Today's film is from another world.
A young Muslim man goes with his older Dad on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
In addition to a great father/son story, it is a deep visit to the world of pilgrimages and ancient mysteries of the Mohammedan faith.
I liked it very much. The young man is inquisitive and very good with his bossy father.
They make a good pair. We can see how the son does, indeed. take after the father.
The film is slow and steady as it moves across borders from their home in France to the city of Mecca where all pilgrimages end.
It is a great combination of travel picture and buddy film.
The movie assumes correctly that the visitor is clueless about what is going on. It is not didactic. Show versus tell.
The bond between the very young man and the very old man is brought to the surface as difficulties are encountered during the trip. At one point the old man points out that if it is easy then it is not a good pilgrimage.
I liked the film a lot and would be quite willing to see it again. So, a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
