Many movies, when you first see it, you will think that you will re-watch it in the future, and the American film "Pilgrimage Road" is one of them. The picture in the film is beautiful, it is called a travel epic, and the walking that runs through it is my favorite, and I am unconsciously fascinated, and I secretly want to go there one day. Pilgrimage place in Santiago, Spain, watched the film, on a whim, almost to learn Spanish, even the training class was selected, only to have free time to consult and register, and later, slowly put down, after the passage of time, has long understood a truth: beware of keen yearning, language is never an obstacle. Today, the yearning in my heart is still the same, but I will no longer deliberately make any preparations.
Recently, I want to revisit that film, search on the Internet, but I can't find that video, several searches are fruitless, a "Father's Pilgrimage" caught my attention, maybe the same film with different names? Click to watch with a glimmer of hope, it is actually another film, watch it slowly, it feels very good. Perhaps because of the similarity of the themes, the two films have both a sense of déjà vu and a difference in details that are 18,000 miles apart.
The protagonists of both films are a father, and there is also a son who accompanies him both explicitly or implicitly. The father in "The Pilgrimage" is a doctor who spends his days at work, entangled in worldly affairs, and lives a busy and closed life. His son, who loves backpacking and living and working in a different place, died unexpectedly during a trip in bad weather. The film thus unfolds, because of the difference of interests and the son gradually drifted apart, the father heard the news of grief, pushed off a matter, rushed to the accident site to deal with the son's posthumous affairs and relics, in the midst of all the thoughts, determined to put on his son's travel equipment, on behalf of his son to complete the unfinished journey. On the pilgrimage road to Santiago, the father walked all the way, deliberately sprinkling his son's ashes along the way, helping his son to realize his last wishes, hoping to truly understand his son and reach a true reconciliation and farewell with his son in his heart.
In "Father's Pilgrimage", the father in the play is an ordinary French Islamic believer with devout faith, feeling that he is dying, and is determined to complete the pilgrimage to Mecca as the holiest believer before his death. In order to show his sincerity, he decided not to take a plane or a ship, but to have his son drive through many countries to the Holy Land. Originally supposed to be driven by the eldest son, because of his accidental drunk driving ban, the youngest son who is facing an academic crisis in college must not become the best candidate for this trip, and the younger son, who is obedient to his father but has a deep separation, finally reluctantly drives on the road under the father's unquestionable orders.
"Pilgrimage Road" all the way beautiful, open, 800 kilometers of pilgrimage trip, along the way full of exotic style, chic town architecture, characteristic customs and customs to come, has become a highlight of the film, but also continue to attract people watching, eager to walk into the film with the people in the play to enjoy the scenery, all the way along the stretch forward. And "Dad's Pilgrimage" is in stark contrast, 3,000 kilometers of journey, under the firm urging of the stereotypical and stubborn father again and again, in addition to eating in the wilderness, simply sitting and eating at the service station, a few sleeping situations in the car and clothes, a few times outside the hotel, almost all the way through the wind and rain, unconsciously has passed through many countries, towns, looking at the son holding the camera in the twilight to take pictures in the distance, people can't help but laugh, The son's repression and composure are vividly expressed.
On the "Pilgrimage Road", the father who is immersed in the pain of losing his son, along the way, deliberately avoids others many times, showing a person's lonely journey, which is the true portrayal of his heart at this time, but in the eyes of the viewer, there is no desolate and lonely feeling on the background of the film, because, along the way, there are actually countless people walking along the way, although most of them are walking alone, but the people who are marching in pairs and twos around can be seen everywhere, in each passing town, there are solemn stamps along the way. There is the hot and lazy hospitality of the innkeeper, and there is also the warm small gathering of backpackers to rest and drink, all of which show that in this journey, even if it is a solo trip, it is still warm and reassuring. Because of an accident, the father who accidentally joined it felt a different life situation than his previous life, and his heart slowly approached his son, understood the life that his son longed for, and slowly made his heart become soft and calm. Several backpackers walking around with the purpose of walking in color and color have also gradually entered the field of vision: a writer who has encountered a bottleneck in his writing and wants to find inspiration, a frustrated woman who wants to quit smoking and say goodbye to the past, a young fat man who hopes to lose weight from scratch... On the pilgrimage road, there are solo walks, there are small gatherings, there are collisions, there are accidents, there are hearts that let down their guard and slowly move closer to each other, and there are also worldly distractions mixed in, which make the film content and perspective full and full, and also attract viewers for a long time along the way, accompanied by the continuation of the pilgrimage road that makes the heart warm and peaceful...
In contrast, the characters in "Father's Pilgrimage" are much simpler, except for a few casual intrudes and fleeting passers-by, along the way, more is to present the separation and conflict between father and son, the father who cannot be questioned, the son who is aggrieved and resentful, the father who is bent on the holy land of Mecca day and night, and the son who is physically and mentally impetuous. Two people with different interests converge in the dispute and compromise in the conflict: the father secretly throws his son's mobile phone into the trash while his son is asleep... The son tries to connect with the outside world in the few opportunities... The father hid the picture of his son's girlfriend... The son was drunk and fooling around... The son who accidentally lost money and had to save money saw his father take the small amount of money in his hand to the begging mother and son and angrily intervened... All of this makes the father and son constantly clash, and even almost part ways, but in the end, family affection overcomes all incomprehension and contradictions. As the plot progresses, the ice in his son's heart gradually melts. When the money is unexpectedly missing, the son is depressed, the gasoline will also burn out, the road seems to come to an end, the father calmly directs his son to stop and refuel at the next gas station, in the face of the son's confused eyes, the father takes out the spare money in the belt, and while the audience breathes a sigh of relief, the son also begins to look at the father who has experienced life... The holy land of Mecca is getting closer and closer, more and more devout believers are emerging and gathering, and the son begins to be shocked by the world that his father believes in, in that world, the father who once seemed to be useless in the eyes of the son and himself was not at all on the same level, but was not alone, even as powerful as the sea of rivers and seas... The father finally completed his pilgrimage to Mecca after a long journey, and he left peacefully, and his heart had begun to accept the son who understood his father, and he cried bitterly at his father's body... The son sold the car and embarked on the journey home alone, looking out the window, with a little more nostalgia and determination in his eyes.
How much change can a trip, a pilgrimage, bring to a person? Different answers will be given in everyone's heart, but one thing cannot be questioned, in every spiritual journey, at least to make yourself more authentic to your own heart, what you have experienced is no longer important, what is important is that the heart can find its direction again in the next few days, after all, life has to continue.
Most people in the world, throughout their lives, may not have the opportunity to experience a pilgrimage in their own lives similar to the one in the film, but it is undeniable that the inner confusion and struggle are as inevitable as shadows, and they still have to face and solve. No matter when and where, to face your heart truthfully, to face the past and the present, it is possible to move more firmly into the future.
In a sense, everyone will experience a spiritual journey and pilgrimage in a similar sense in their own life, in the process of learning to talk to themselves and achieve reconciliation with themselves, which may be a life issue that we will face all our lives. More importantly, it is necessary to harvest firm faith. Faith, many times may not bring us worldly benefits, but it can achieve a calm and firm heart, so that in the days of your life, even in ordinary and ordinary days, you can still be spoiled, learn to be silent and joyful, and taste the years quietly.
Life is not a pilgrimage road with no return, all the way to the distant place of longing, experiencing wind and frost, experiencing rain and snow, letting the face change, letting the future be difficult, letting the people around you come and go, and not changing the original intention.
The sea of hearts is endless, and the road is under your feet.