The Great Journey (2004)

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Movie
German title The big journey
Original title Le grand voyage
Country of production Morocco , France
original language Arabic , French
Publishing year 2004
length 108 minutes
Age rating JMK 6
Rod
Director Ismaël Ferroukhi
script Ismaël Ferroukhi
production Humbert Balsan
music Fowzi Guerdjou
camera Katell Djian
cut Tina Baz
occupation

The great journey (arab.الرحلة الكبرى, DMG ar-Riḥla al-kubrā , with the same meaning) is a feature film by director Ismaël Ferroukhi .

It took Ferroukhi about ten years to raise the funds for his film, which is also his first film; the idea and the book for it come from him. Personal experiences inspired him to make this film:

“ My father made the drive to Mecca when I was a child, and that made me fantasize. I wanted to tell this story one day, but above all I wanted to make a film in which everyone can identify with each other, be it with regard to their origins or their religion. "

- Ismaël Ferroukhi

The producer of the film is Humbert Balsan, camera was directed by Katell Djian, Tina Baz was responsible for editing and Xavier Griette was responsible for the sound. The score is by Fowsi Guerdjou. The film takes about 104 minutes, was shot in color and on 35 mm.

In the original version, the film is completely bilingual in French and Maghrebian Arabic.

content

Réda, a young Frenchman of Moroccan origin, is supposed to drive his father to Mecca in his brother's car after he had to surrender his driver's license again. Now, in old age, the father would like to make the pilgrimage . Réda is desperate; neither the time ahead nor the religiousness of his father offer him tempting perspectives. He wants to repeat the Abitur exam and not leave his girlfriend alone. But the father prevails and the two drive off.

The relationship between the two - especially in the narrow space of the car - is not very good; the son is angry with the father but can't really show him that. The father has absolutely no understanding of the son's situation.

The journey first goes to Italy, where Réda asks his father in vain to let him see Milan and Venice .

Before crossing the border to Serbia, i.e. in Croatia, they meet an old woman whose language they do not understand, but who they first take with them in their car, but then want to get rid of them after they fail with the help of the local residents. find out what or where she actually wants to go.

Before reaching Turkey, they have to stay outside because of the snow that makes it impossible for them to travel. Wrapped in blankets under the little roof of a bus stop, his father explains why he doesn't want to travel to Mecca by plane: he would prefer to do the Hajj on foot, because that's better than on a horse. It is better by horse than by car, but better by car than by ship and, in turn, a lot better by ship than by plane. His father did the Hajj on a mule. They are snowed in at night and the next morning the father is ill, whereupon Réda takes his father to the hospital in Sofia. Réda takes the bus through the city to fetch the father's Koran and sees the old woman outside again. Back in the hospital, the father wants to continue his journey immediately and the two drive to Turkey - no time must be lost.

At the border to Turkey, the two cannot communicate (as is so often the case) and after a long time they are still not allowed to pass. A man named Mustafa, who speaks French, helps them and invites them to his house, which only Réda accepts while their father waits in the car. Mustafa decides to travel with them to Mecca and together they drive to Istanbul and visit the Blue Mosque. Réda would like to stay and visit the city (like many other cities on the trip), but the father wants to move on. Réda can talk to Mustafa about his girlfriend and go out in the evening. When Réda wakes up one morning (after an evening full of alcohol), both Mustafa and the travelers' money have disappeared - the father is angry. The Turkish police cannot help them either.

In Syria, the two broke down in the middle of a relatively deserted area. A woman begs for money at a well. When the father gives her some, he and Réda have a big argument, because Réda thinks that now that they have almost no money themselves, they shouldn't share it too. During an argument, Réda gets a slap in the face from his father, as a result of which he runs away. The father finds the photo of Lisa, Réda's girlfriend, in the car and runs after him. He offers him to fly back to France from Damascus. However, the two reconcile for the time being and continue to Jordan. Here Réda finds money under the seat of the car - it's the money they missed. In the evening he goes out and his father catches him drunk and joking with a girl in front of the hotel. Now the father wants to let the son sit; Réda asks his forgiveness and they both drive to Saudi Arabia. There Réda has a dream in the desert: his father walks past with a flock of sheep and he himself gets caught in quicksand; the father does not set him free. On the road to Mecca, the two meet other pilgrims with whom they camp together. While everyone is praying, Réda walks around in the desert and writes "LISA" in the sand with his feet. Before the two reach the city, they stop again in the desert. Here Réda asks his father for the first time about the real meaning of the Hajj. The father interrupts his ablution and explains it to him. Finally, the father tells Réda that he would never have come this far without him. Both believe that they learned a lot on this trip. Together, the two of them drive to the city of Mecca in quiet harmony, you can see the Koran stand that serves as the entrance gate in front of the city. The city looks very chaotic when the two arrive. There the father puts on pilgrim clothes and Réda finds, to his amazement, the photo of Lisa on the dashboard (and a smiling father). Now the rituals begin, the father joins the community of believers, while Réda wanders around pretty much alone. When the father isn't there the next morning either, Réda worries and tries to find him. He takes the bus to the center and gets to the Ka'ba. Security guards take him when he causes trouble because he cannot find his father. In a separate room they show Réda the recently deceased people - the father is among them. Desperate, Réda lies down next to him, then the body is washed and buried. Réda eventually sells the car and gives some of his money to a poor woman sitting on the street. Then he takes a taxi to the airport.

Person constellations

Father-son conflict and search for meaning

In this film, father and son are contrasting characters. Even on the outside, they are very different: the son wears western clothing, the father, however, traditional Maghrebian clothing, the son always speaks French, the father, however, Arabic. Réda is relatively educated, whereas his father is illiterate.

This dichotomy is of course even more evident in their worldviews. The religious rules shape the behavior of the father. So it happens that both perceive certain situations completely differently or behave completely differently. This can be seen quite well when visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul ; the father prays there and simply regards the building as a place of worship. Réda, on the other hand, looks at the building more like a cultural tourist, he is interested in the sight. This is also clear in Syria, where the two of them quarrel: The father gives a begging woman money, which Réda does not see. The father sees the woman's emergency situation, Réda his own. In these situations, there seems to be a downright lack of understanding of the other's attitudes and actions.

The development that the two experience in relation to each other can be seen very clearly in two scenes in the film: The first scene takes place in Slovenia. The two rest on the roadside and there is a strict disharmony between the two. Réda is angry with his father because he threw away his cell phone and he makes no move to understand him. They sit next to each other at dinner, but Réda looks away the entire time. You can feel his anger, but the patriarchal conditions force him to wordlessly accept his father's deeds. The father watches him incessantly. One can assume that he is wondering "Who is my son anyway?" In the other scene, the two are shortly before Mecca and camp one last time in the desert. They are alone and when the father wants to begin his prayer with a ritual washing with sand, Réda asks him about the meaning of the Hajj. The father interrupts his plan and explains it to him; he tries to be respectful and finally tells him that God should bless him because he has come this far only because of him. When the father continues to pray, Réda looks at him. Here, too, the two know that they are different, but have managed to find a more harmonious common level.

Later, Réda waits for his father in Mecca, standing on the roof of the car - like he once did for his father on a mountain in Morocco. Ferroukhi says:

“I am closer to the son than to the father, because like the son I am not religious either, but I have learned to respect others and their spirituality. […] My father made the drive to Mecca when I was a child, and that made me fantasize. I wanted to tell this story one day, but above all I wanted to make a film in which everyone could relate to themselves, be it in relation to their origins or their religion. [...] The story is about the meeting of two opposing people in a car. Both cover half the way to each other. The son learns something about his father's values ​​and he also learns a lot about the son. "

- Ismaël Ferroukhi

After this trip, Réda had more concrete ideas about his cultural origins and learned more about them than in previous years. Once in Mecca, the father dies after the rituals and Réda's desperation over his death also grows out of his now deeper understanding of his father.

"The film has a human and social side in that it deals with the relationship between a father and a son and shows how respect can develop into love."

- Ismaël Ferroukhi

Mustafa

Mustafa is a Muslim who does not follow Islam in its wording, i.e. i.e., he lives his faith according to his own ideas. For example, on the one hand he goes for the Hajj, on the other hand he drinks alcohol because he is of the opinion that if a person's soul is big enough, the alcohol would not be able to influence it (parable, which he claims is a Sufi story). Mustafa goes out and seems to be enjoying his life; he was already married to a French woman and has several children. In the film he speaks notably often about money, which probably makes it even easier for the two protagonists to believe in his guilt in the robbery. In a sense, Mustafa lives out a kind of compromise between the lives of the father and the son. He therefore occupies an intermediate position in relation to Réda and his father, although he does not seem particularly convincing to the father. Due to his supposed theft of the travel money and the consequent breaking off of the pilgrimage, Réda is deprived of the opportunity to get to know Mustafa's alternative and free understanding of faith and to check it for its credibility.

The old woman

The old woman can be interpreted as an angel or as a messenger of death. It is never understood by the other people around you (not even linguistically) and always looks like it is from another world. She can suddenly disappear and reappear and does not seem to know fear (Réda almost runs over her, but she stops).

In the scenes in which she appears, “death props” appear (cemetery with funeral procession). To ultimately get rid of her, the two must outsmart her. Significantly, she appears to Réda again in Sofia during her father's hospital stay - here the father is apparently very close to death. But death is pushed away, postponed, so to speak, because the father decides to leave quickly.

The film's image of Islam

“ Le Grand Voyage does not treat Islam as a religion. First of all, the trip to Mecca is quite simply a pretext to lock two completely opposite figures, a father and a son, in a car and force them to communicate with one another. In addition, I felt like telling a human story about two Muslim characters so that one can finally stop walking clichés about a peace-loving and tolerant community. I wanted to rehabilitate a community whose reputation has been damaged by an extreme minority who abuse religion for political ends. There are over a billion Muslims in the world. Wrong images distort Islam and I feel directly affected by it. "

- Ismaël Ferroukhi

Numerous Islamic practices are shown in Ferroukhi's film. The family's apartment that you see at the beginning of the film is decorated with religious wall decorations. The father always has his prayer beads with him (he holds it in his hand during the conversation with Réda, later it hangs in the car). Overall, you see a lot of prayer actions - the father prays alone five times in the film and later together with the other pilgrims. The Koran is also always present in the film. The language is shaped by religion (even if Inschallah is a common term). The viewer also sees the ablution before prayer - in the desert with sand - and witnesses the general pilgrimage rituals such as putting on the Ihram. After the death of the father, one also gets an insight into the Muslim burial rituals. The arrival in Mecca is marked by pilgrim solidarity and the exuberant joy of the Muslims.

Cinematic aesthetics

The backdrops in Le grand voyage are very varied: snowy landscapes, mountains, forests, stone and sandy deserts alternate and give the viewer a feeling for the length of the journey and for the different cultures that the path crosses. The backdrops remain unobtrusive. Ferroukhi himself says:

“I did a lot of research on locations, but I didn't want postcards. I wanted to stay with the characters and take an inner journey with them.

If you really see a larger exterior decor on this trip, it is a reflection of the interior of the figures. The decor could never be more important than the protagonists. "

In the film, the viewer encounters a multitude of languages. Mostly French or Maghrebian Arabic is spoken, but also Italian, Slovenian, Serbian, Turkish and Standard Arabic. The fact that no subtitles are used in the original version makes it particularly clear how foreign the protagonists are to the various countries.

In many scenes there is little talk, while other scenes are full of dialog and loud. As a result, the atmosphere often changes (e.g. snowed in at the bus stop in contrast to Istanbul; Italian mountains in contrast to hectic scenes in Mecca). In the “loud” scenes, the director lets us share in the concise experiences of the two travelers, he shows us the magnificence and emphasizes the special features of their experiences. With the "quiet" scenes, on the other hand, with recordings in a lonely environment or during a monotonous car journey, it shows how long the journey is. So this journey is twofold, it is both eventful and a lonely pilgrimage. The director succeeds in showing this in a special way:

The camera often shows a bird's eye view, especially in the cities of Istanbul and Mecca. The scenes in the car, on the other hand, are mostly filmed from the front, so that viewers think they are directly opposite the protagonists as if they were fellow travelers. The camera is always guided calmly. Ferroukhi himself says:

“We were the first film team that could shoot in Mecca, and only during the pilgrimage. It was extremely difficult to get permission because the official paper from the Saudi embassy was of little value on site. They were used to TV teams there, but not to a cinema crew. I really wanted to film from the inside out, move with the camera in the midst of the crowds so that the audience could get an idea of ​​what this pilgrimage means. [...]

We started filming in Mecca because the film would have been pointless for me without these scenes. "

The music accompanying the film - especially prominent at the beginning and end of the film - essentially repeats the same theme over and over again. In between, music is only used in key scenes.

Overall, the film is very aesthetic without becoming unrealistic. He always appears honest and does not lie or blind the viewer.

additional

Reviews

“A moving road movie, at the end of which there was partial rapprochement, reconciliation and understanding between the generations. Formally, the film convinces with brilliant actors and fascinating music that is set as a mystical counterpoint. "

- Lexicon of international film online

“A beautiful, 5000 kilometer long love story between father and son. [...] A new tolerance grows out of the power struggle and the humiliations. Such learning processes are often boring in the cinema. Not with Ferroukhi, who also wrote the script. He found wonderful actors for his two fighters (Nicolas Cazalé and Mohamed Majd), and he describes their approach with soft humor. Again and again the camera captures the sideways glances: sometimes that of the father at the son sitting at the wheel, sometimes the other way around. They are cautious, scrutinizing looks that are not marked by triumph even in the other's weak moments. "

- Ulla Steuerungagel

"Because we need these films with stories from everyday life that show slogans, mistrust and misunderstandings in their paralyzing effect and are able to - maybe - make them waste."

- Martin Walder

“Truthful and touching. With two captivating actors, THE GREAT JOURNEY never goes exactly as the viewer would have expected - a great film. "

- Rolling Stone

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Age rating for The Great Journey . Youth Media Commission .
  2. ↑ The great journey. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ↑ Ulla Steuerungagel: The great journey. In: Schwäbisches Tagblatt / Tagblatt online cinema magazine. Retrieved February 16, 2008 .
  4. ↑ Martin Walder: The path on the asphalt is the goal. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag / NZZ online. May 29, 2005, accessed February 16, 2008 .
  5. ^ Curtain rises on Dubai's first film festival. (No longer available online.) In: Dubai International Film Festival online. December 6, 2004, archived from the original on October 20, 2007 ; Retrieved February 16, 2008 . (English)