Film Reflection Essay Samples

The questions of faith, purpose of life, relationship between parents and children and the contrast between the nature and civilization have always been actual. They all are wisely connected and carefully reviewed in the movie Le Grand Voyage, written and directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi. The film tells us a story of one trip, one way shared by two people. The two seems close as they are one family and have lived together for many years, but at the same time they are very different and have difficulties understanding one another.
Reda is a representative of the new generation. There is nothing bad that could be said about him. He is well-educated, respects and obeys his parents. On the other side, his father seems quite reserved and opinionated Islam believer. Their perception of the world is totally different, and to be honest, at the beginning of the movie my sympathies were on the son’s side. As the journey progressed my preferences started to shift. Through the contrast between the father and the son we could notice Reda’s temper, haste, desire to experience everything here and now and the habit to push away all that is different or unusual for him. I think the following words of his father when Mustafa stole their money describe the boy very well: “You know how to read and write but you know nothing about life”. At the same time, I cannot give Reda’s attitude or behavior any negative evaluation as to my mind it is often characteristic for the most of us. This makes the movie even more appealing.
On the other hand, the father is shown as wise, unhurried, short-spoken, forgiving and willing to reconcile. Still, even he has a lot to understand and accept, what he successfully does throughout this journey. Closer to the end of the movie in their final talk both men acknowledge that they have learned a lot. It seemed to me that after that conversation the journey was different, more calm and peaceful, and a real pilgrimage.
The end of the movie was unexpected and quite disappointing for me as I was hoping to see how their lives changes after they returned home. Still, I think the father has fulfilled his duty, which was not only visiting Mecca and cleaning his soul, but also building trust and understanding with his son. As for Reda, I am sure that after this trip he will never be the same.
Probably everyone in his or her life needs to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, which is one big symbol of truth. You do not need to be a Muslim and travel through the half of the world. I think everyone has to find their own Mecca and through the trials to gain faith, faith in oneself, others or someone above. What I know for sure is that the movie Le Grand Voyage, where you will find less speaking but more depth than in any other one and a half hour film you can think of, is definitely worth watching.