The Wind Journeys

I have to start off first by singing the praises of the Film Movement collection. For my taste, there is almost never a bad movie. Many of them have stayed with me over days and weeks after I have watched them. They are unusual stories, exceptional cinematography, and affordably priced. Many of them have been my first film from that country or of that culture. I can't say enough wonderful things about it.

This movie was shot in 80 different locations in Columbia, and was ther submission for Best Foreign Language film for the Oscars last year. We follow Ignacio, an accordion playing troubadour and Fermin, a boy playing Sancho to his Don Quixote. They travel through fields, forests, small villages and mountains to take the accordion back to its original owner. Occasionally Ignacio will play, usually for money or food, never it seems for the joy of playing. He is mourning the death of his wife, and he thinks the accordion has an arrangement with the devil that didn't used to bother him, but now he knows he has to take it back where it came from. Fermin is a little confused as to what they are doing--and he is only doing it because his mother told him he had to follow this guy--he really gets into a whole load of trouble as a result of going, but in the end, he finds his bliss, the thing that makes him happiest of all, and so it is a journey most important to him. Ignacio rides a burro, and Fermin walks, but the pace of the movie is very much the sure footed and steady pace that the burro sets. The movie appears to be going nowhere, and then just as suddenly, you are there, and happy to have gotten there. Not to be overlooked is a Columbia that is exceptionally gorgeous and rarely seen. Don't miss it.