Le Grand Voyage

Overcompensation is the worst kind of artistic failure because it is a sign of not knowing what one is doing and a lack of confidence. This is doubly so when it comes to a personal story. It may be understandable if a director does not fully understand someone else’s story, but to tell something personal but does not know what to do with it borders on the ridiculous. The sad thing is how many films are over-explained and over-directed. All these director should be made to see Ismaël Ferroukhi‘s “Le Grand Voyage.” It is the story of a father and son’s personal journey, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The father wanted to go before he died and the son did not want to go at all. It would have been easy, indeed tempting, to explain everything: the emotions, the alienations, the resentments, etc. Ferroukhi instead chose to let his camera to do the talking. We see the two hajjis’ relationship changed slowly and emotions erupted briefly, rather than playing them for drama, he allowed the actors and the journey itself to tell the story. The camera captured both with care and no distraction. It was a display of confidence and resulted in a fresh and nuance exploration of Muslim and of faith.