The Journey’ is an Australian-made telemovie that follows several Afghan asylum seekers in their quest to reach Australia. It was funded by the Federal Government and is shown in refugee source countries.
MARGARET: I think it has a beautiful nostalgic appeal. A return to the days when media was exclusively used to control the public. Terrific performances made the naïve refugee family surprisingly believable.
DAVID: I’m going to be a grouch. It’s not manipulative enough.
MARGARET: Grrrr.
DAVID: I know. I think it’s just too subtle. I don’t like coping with a patronisingly educational plot unless it’s really rammed down the audience’s throat.
MARGARET: Come on, David. The tragic ending made the film’s purpose abundantly obvious.
DAVID: Yes. Yes. And the use of slow motion footage and fading to black at every single point of narrative significance was masterful. But I would have loved to have seen more suffering to drive the message home. I felt more pain myself because of the lost potential.
MARGARET: I’m giving it three and a half stars. DAVID: Two from me.