The Flemish Road movie Aller / Retourin which a truck driver and an illegal immigrant to Spain, unfortunately, have little to say about the migration crisis.
It’s a tried and tested recipe: take two opposing personalities from different backgrounds and have them spend time together in a car for whatever reason. By the end of the movie, differences are steadily bridged and a lifelong friendship is born. We saw that recently in France brisk (2021) and in this month Une Belle course.
Made by Dorothy van den Berghe Aller / Retour Flemish variant of this formula. Truck driver Erica (Ruth Beckmans) is on his way to Spain. Illegal immigrant Eddie (Wilkett Bongui) sneaks her cargo in; He thinks he’s on his way to England. When Erica spots him, she decides to take him to Spain, so she can drop him off in Belgium on the way back.
van den Berghe (who in 2018 with the movie Young Rosie and Moses It won the main prize at Cinekid) followed Aller / Retour Obey the law of the road movie. Unfortunately, the text is short. Take, for example, Eddie’s homophobia when he finds out Erica is a lesbian. For a moment he reacts with disgust, but a scene later it seems like he doesn’t have a problem with anything anymore. Or the relationship crisis between Erica and her friend that lasts an entire movie. In one scene this is resolved by Idy and love blossoms again as usual. The viewer has to guess what exactly was said or happened.
What doesn’t help is that Idy is still a static character. While we get to know Erica as a whole character with her own interests, it’s still unclear what Erica’s backstory is and what drives him. Even the country he came from is still unknown. Why does he want to go to the UK? Yes, many immigrants hope to cross the Channel, but what is it We are specific dream there? We won’t find out. The date is briefly hinted at when Erica and Eddie arrive in Almería, where Eddie works in the greenhouses. But she doesn’t get much more than hints.
So Aller / Retour In the end, unfortunately little can be said about the current migration crisis. Although the film is about family and what it means to be at home, it is seen from the point of view of the Flemish Erica. Thus the cheerful final piece feels a bit bitter. There is a happy ending for Erica. For Idy, the question is if anything has really improved.
