Customer Reviews

WIND JOURNEYS

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(special thanks to Film Movement for providin me with a screener!)

I live in Arizona and before that lived in Palm Springs, CA. Prior to that I lived in Seattle, but that doesn't matter to this discussion. It was while living in Palm Springs that I began to learn how important the accordion is in Mexican music. This is apparently due to a large number of German settlers who ended up in Northern Mexico and brought their music with them. What I hadn't known until seeing this movie was how big accordions apparently are even in places farther south than Mexico, like Colombia, the setting of this latest movie from Film Movement.

This isn't the Colombia you're used to seeing in TV and movies. It's not the Colombia of drug lords or revolutionaries. No, it's the Colombia of people living in small towns, eking out a meager existence and enjoying some very interesting music.

The movie tells the story of Ignacio, a renowned accordion player, who leaves on a mission to return a horned accordion (don't ask), to its rightful owner. Tagging along is a teenage boy who wants to learn how to play the accordion so that he can impress a girl back home. Why Ignacio didn't just send the thing via UPS is beyond me, but I guess if he had, we wouldn't have had a story.

To a great extent this film reminds me of a martial arts movie, or a Western. You have the old master and the young, would-be apprentice traveling along together on a Mission of Great Importance. Except in Spanish. With accordions.

There's a great many fascinating elements to this movie. I particularly liked a scene where there's an accordion duel that was not entirely unlike the rap duels featured in "8 Mile". Except in Spanish. With accordions. I also really loved the scenery, which showed Colombia as having a far more diverse environment than I'd expected.

This was a very entertaining, if not perfect, movie. It does drag a bit in the first and third acts, but otherwise is full-on. Besides, where else will you see an accordion duel?

=== Short Subject ===

This month's short subject is a film called "Danzak" from Peru. It centers around a ten-year-old girl whose father is dying. He's a dancer who uses a device not unlike scissors in his dancing. He asks his daughter to round up some people so that he can have one last dance, while her mother runs around doing everything she can to get him medicine so that he can live just a little longer.

This was a really great short film. I'd never heard of this kind of dancing and found it to be really interesting, plus it was cool hearing a language, Quechua, that I've not heard before. It's a good compliment to the main feature and a decent stand-alone piece.

Never in foreign film have I seen such varying and beautiful cultural landscapes as this one, in Colombia. According to the director, the film took 4 years to make and covers 84 shooting locations that took mules and 4x4s to reach. And, Director Ciro Guerra has also said that people in Colombia didn't even know their country looked like this.

The 2 hour film focuses on the sweeping panoramic landscapes, the many varieties of landscapes, something different appears constantly throughout the film. It is about the characters and their deep sense of culture, beliefs and tradition. It is about verbal/musical sparring and challenges to claim the spot of best accordianist; percussionist who are good enough to become baptized with the blood of a lizard; and a violent sword fight between two while the accordionist plays on. And, of course it is about the music, the accordion.

An old man and well-known troubadour Ignacio Carillo, whose wife has just died has come to grips that he needs to return his accordion back to the person he got it from, being that the accordion is cursed. He takes a mule for the treks that will also be on foot, and by canoe crossing water.

We don't learn much about his beliefs that the accordion is the devil and cursed. He just seems adamant that it must go back. A young teen, Fermin, has been encouraged by his mother to follow the man, to learn the accordion from the man. The relationship is not completely a "togetherness", as young Fermin is discouraged by Ignacio from joining and following in his footsteps.

Together, they encounter events where prize money is offered to play, as the journey leads to self-discover and different paths. The journey is a long distance and although the film moves slowly, it is wonderful to absorb the culture and the life of musical troubadours, the music from Colombia, and to explore a side of the world I didn't know existed. The cinematography is superb and continuously surprising. The 2009 award winning film takes place circa late 60s. It is distributed by FILM MOVEMENT Award-Winning Films and provides first run, independent and foreign films from the top festivals-Sundance, Cannes, Toronto; Good directing and Good scripts ...Rizzo

On strong recommendation from my sister I finally got around to seeing this unusual Colombian film. I have to admit, I know very little about Spanish language cinema (especially from the Americas). Regardless, I found The Wind Journeys a fascinating experience -- one I suspect I would have appreciated even more if I knew the cultural background to the gorgeous tableux unfolding so majestically before my eyes. The cinematography, gorgeous scenery, moving music, and the slight surrealist (perhaps too strong of a word) edge merits finding this film!

Brief Plot Summary (limited spoilers)

Ignacio Carrillo, a Colombian folk singer, decides to give up his accordion and return it to his teacher. His accordion, decked out with devilish horns, is supposedly cursed -- taking over whoever plays it.

As he departs his small town, Fermin, a teenage boy who wishes to learn how to play the accordion (I can't precisely figure out Fermin's motivation), sets off after him. The relationship between the two characters is the emotional center of the film and by far the most interesting plot related element. They set off across the visually arresting geography of Colombia (absolutely gorgeous) meeting unusual people -- engaging in accordion "duels". In one of the most memorable scenes involves Ignacio reluctantly playing his accordion for two men settling their scores on a bridge by hacking at each other with machetes... The cinematography is SUPERB throughout heightening the power of these unusual sequences.

Ignacio is extraordinarily reluctant to play his cursed instrument. Likewise, he is reluctant to teach Fermin (perhaps in order to prevent him from turning into the gruff man old man he has become). The last sequence of the film further complicates the relationship between the two main characters and is ultimately somewhat ambiguous. The plot is definitely not the fulcrum of the experience. Revel in the feel of this timelessly world... Revel in the artistry of every image....

Final Thoughts

I must admit, I finished somewhat unsatisfied by the experience. Perhaps because I am at loss regarding the cultural aspects of the film. Perhaps because I was so enraptured by the beauty of every image I concentrated more on what I saw on the surface than prying deeper -- but I feel somewhat adrift and unable to do so.

Yes, the basic elements we are so familier with are here: the young boy, the gruff yet wise old man, the sage on the mountain top (an accordion repair man), a quest, every changing scenery, unusual duels and tests of "manliness" (whatever form that might take). At its most superficial the film is approachable. But I am lacking the knowledge to see the slight manipulations (cultural perhaps) of the archetype. I want to know more... The experience was worthwhile... At the moment, it was only an experience -- the vague elicited emotions, and visual resonances are there, but the words are lacking.

Recommended -- on rather ambiguous grounds.

This film was beautiful! It highlights the lives of Ignacio, an older man who formerly played an accordion and Fermin, an aspiring musician. A tale of love, loss, friendship and hope, the film highlights a number of deep emotions that leaves the viewer wanting more.

Taking place in South America, the film offers amazing views in every scene along with a very detailed storyline. The score to the film is beautifully done as well! If you love foreign films, you definitely need to check this out.

This is the best Colombian movie in all our history! The music, the landscapes and the photography show the identity of a country and the value of vallenato to our society.

Strongly recommended to have a different view of the Colombia seen from the daily news!!

"The Wind Journeys" takes the audience on a beautiful ride through the budding relationship between Ignacio, a former-accordion player, and Fermin, an aspiring musician.

With breathtaking views of South America, a dramatic and suspenseful storyline, and a beautifully crafted score by Ivan "Tito" Ocampo, this film is a definite must-see for the foreign film lover.

This started out with promise, but aside from the beautiful scenery, there was nothing to hold my interest. Didn't connect with the plot or characters.

Beautifully filmed Colombian "Crossroads" tale. Despite the stunning location filming the movie drags out a familiar story. There are a few original contributions to the tale but the star of the movie really is the countryside.

Adored this film. Everything about it was perfectly done: casting, acting, locations, music, etc. The filmmaker filled The Wind Journeys with breathtaking sights of the Colombian landscape and bewitching vallenato music. Apart from just these technical aspects, the film also does magnificently. Old man Ignacio (Marciano Martínez) and the young Fermin (Yull Nunez) play off each other very well and rhythmically. Their relationship is relatable and touching from both ends; I watched the film with my grandmother and while she understood Ignacio's motives, I related to Fermin. We both thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The Wind Journeys stimulates both your senses as well as your emotions. Overall wonderful

If you are looking for a fast paced thriller, where situations become obvious and you know what will happen even before the characters, this movie is not for you.

The movie relates the journey of Ignacio Carrillo, a well known accordion player and vallenato singer, who decided to return a "cursed" instrument to his master, followed by a very stubborn Fermin Morales, a teenage who wants to have all the perks and recognition of the vallenato singers, and want to learn from Carrillo, either Carrillo wants to teach him or not.
Folk stories say the accordion was won by Carrillo's master in an improvisation battle with the devil itself. These beliefs are reinforced by the strange horns attached to the accordion.

Slow dialog, long (almost unbearable) silence spots between each sentence, may get the common viewer asking if the actors forgot the script. Slow dialog, unexpected from a singer that can create wit replies in seconds while doing the improvisation battles, is key to put the spectator in the position the director wants: The characters know where they are going, but we don't. This is reinforced by constant panning of the camera, from dark to light, going backwards, or from the characters themselves to whatever they are looking at.

On the slow pace, interrupted only by amazing takes of Colombian landscapes, the viewer can easily start thinking slow and could miss the plot.

In the end, only if you were able to follow the plot, you will discover that Fermin got more than he was asking for, and Carrillo's journey was like the wind journeys: We know where they start, where they end, and even what is the route the journey will take, but still every second is a surprise and the end itself, while known, may be unexpected.

Don't feel bad if you need to watch more than once to fully appreciate this movie.