rowmorg When a young man is persuaded by his aged father to drive him, a devout Moslem, to Mecca (3,000 miles away) he obeys but with a heavy heart. The old man is a tedious curmudgeon who throws away the lad's mobile phone that links him to his girl-friend, refuses to stop in Milan or Venice to look around, and accuses their new friend of stealing all their money (which he has actually mislaid). He also refuses to speak anything but Moroccan Arabic. In short, he's a deadly bore who quotes mottoes like "He who hurries is already dead", something that his son throws back in his face later. Reda (well played by Nicolas Cazale) is supposed to come round to his Dad as they arrive in Mecca, and weeps copiously when he finds him dead. I suppose a big crowd of the faithful can have that effect, but it seemed insincere to me and falsely devout, perhaps to secure production money. However, we enjoyed the road movie part, which had some good easygoing laughs and (as Dad required) did not hurry at all.

MartinHafer Reda is a young Frenchman of Moroccan descent. Despite his Muslim heritage, he is very French in attitudes and values. Out of the blue, his father announces that Reda will be driving him to the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca--something that Reda has no interest in doing but agrees only out of obligation. As a result, from the start, Reda is angry but being a traditional Muslim man, his father is difficult to talk to or discuss his misgivings. Both father and son seem very rigid and inflexible--and it's very ironic when the Dad tells his son that he should not be so stubborn.When I read the summary, it talks about how much the characters grew and began to know each other. However, I really don't think they did and that is the fascinating and sad aspect of the film. Sure, there were times of understanding, but so often there was an undercurrent of hostility and repression. I actually liked this and appreciated that there wasn't complete resolution of this--as it would have seemed phony.Overall, the film is well acted and fascinating--giving Westerners an unusual insight into Islam and the Hajj. It also provides a fascinating juxtaposition of traditional Islam and the secular younger generation. While the slow pace and lack of clarity about the relationship throughout the film may annoy some, I think it gave the film intense realism and made it look like a film about people--not some formula. A nice and unusual film.

tony-clifton There were some good moments to this movie, such as the scenery and the acting between the actors. In that sense this movie is excellent. However, the last scene with the father and son is contrived - the typical ending to this kind of movie where one cannot think of a better ending! I guess my problem with it, is because writers feel a movie has to end that way just to make you "think about it" - a sort of induced trauma. Furthermore it doesn't make any sense why the authorities would have thought to bring the son to the father in the first place.In short, although I liked the movie I felt the ending was forced and I don't think a contrived ending with induced sentimentality deserves the high recognition it's received thus far. 5/10

DICK STEEL You'd think you're in for some serious sightseeing when the premise of the movie takes place primarily between two characters as they travel 3000 miles or so from France to Saudi Arabia, going through most of Europe - Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, before arriving in the Middle East. But this is not a tour, and there are no stopovers for soaking in the sights.Reda's father is in his twilight years, and wishes to do the Haj. However, since walking and taking the mule is out of the question, he chooses to travel to Mecca by car. He can't drive, and therefore enlists the help of Reda, to his son's protest, to get him there in their broken down vehicle.But Reda doesn't see the point of having him go along, when his dad could opt for the plane. He resents the idea of having put his personal life on hold for this pilgrimage he couldn't understand. And hence, we set off in this arduous journey with father and son, being not the best of pals.The beauty of this movie is to witness the development of the father and son pair, the challenges they face, the weird people they meet, having to duke it out in varied weather conditions, and alternating rest stops between motels and sleeping in the car. We see an obvious generation gap in them trying to communicate to each other, the father trying to impose on his son, and the son trying to assert himself as an adult, but circumstances we see, reveal that Reda is quite a fish out of water. Through the many encounters, they actually team up quite well despite their differences.It's perhaps quite apt to have this film released here last week to coincide with Hari Raya Haji, and having the opportunity to watch our protagonists join the other pilgrims in their Haj. The final scene in Mecca is truly a sight to behold, and you too would feel the claustrophobia and fear as Reda tries to hunt down his dad amongst the thousands of people congregating. The sights of Europe were perhaps deliberately not dwelled upon, so as to build up the anticipation of and focus on the final destination.It certainly rang home the thought of telling and showing loved ones how much you appreciate them for who they are. Don't miss this, and yes, book early - I was pleasantly surprised that this evening's session was still a full house.