Le Grand Voyage (The Great Journey)

Review by Mark Stanfield

The short: 

2004 film by French-Moroccan director Ismaël Ferroukhi, involving a strained father-son relationship and which intimately portrays their pilgrimage, by car, from Provence to Mecca. 

The long: 

Set initially in Southern France, a father asks his son to drive him a very long distance to Mecca. At the outset the French-speaking son, Réda, who does not understand the reason for driving so many thousands of kilometers, does not have a great relationship with his father, who insists on speaking Arabic. Slowly, as they make their way toward Mecca, their interactions improve. It is an endearing story and one with an unexpected ending. Ferroukhi seems to suggest that older generations and the very human communities depicted are to be trusted by youth, particularly through the film’s use of language, culture, and spirituality as a bridge across barriers. 

To watch or not to watch:

Certainly watch, particularly if you are inclined toward the French or Maghrebi Arabic language. It is worth noting that this was the first movie based on fiction that the Saudi Arabian government allowed to be filmed in Mecca during hajj.