Passage

'Passage' achieves something truly special in telling the story of John Rae and his remarkable journeys. In recognising that there's more to a story than the story itself, John Walker blends established techniques to create a wonderful, rich hybrid documentary that paints a full picture of a man and his times, the lands he travelled through, the people he met and the struggles he endured. Walker's choices in switching narrative viewpoints, in sparing use of dramatic re-creation and in bringing the modern world face-to-face with the Victorian are the sign of a fine director at ease with his craft and one who credits his audience with the intelligence to follow his line. A landmark documentary.

I could not find Passage anywhere. I bought a copy from the states, a waste of £12 and hence me writing my first IDMB review. I got very excited when I came across this 'Movie'. I checked out the site, watched the trailer and when I looked it up here at the IDMB I tragically failed to notice the 2nd review and 1 star by 'Mr Avid'. The first review giving 5 stars by 'fergus—mitchel' in retrospect looks suspicious as it is his only one and seems a pretty slick PR puff. We tried to watch Passage last night but got very bored by the cutting back and forward to the 'making of'. I tried to fast forward to the expected drama, but all there was, was this tiresome switching between drama/doc/navel gazing as it lurched slowly to its cringe-worthy conclusion. I hoped for a drama or documentary and got neither. We gave up after 25 minutes of contrived, self important waffle and bullshit. It is a shame as 'Mr Avid' in his succinct review says John Ray's story is a terrific one and the cinematography is actually very good with breathtaking location shots. The NFBC wasted their money on this. I looked to see if 'Fatal Passage' had been made as a movie but unfortunately not. Give this a miss. Go get the book.

For Franklin buffs there is a lot of interesting material here, although it is presented in an odd way. It's a documentary of a making of a dramatic retelling of John Rae's search for the lost expedition. Unique and kind of clever but isn't successful in its delivery.

While overall it is strangely presented, at times self-absorbed and seems to lose focus, it is worth watching for the scenes where the Inuit man visits England. In particular, there are some very heated and upsetting scenes where experts contest the fate of the expedition with the Inuit man. It's this climax that is worth watching this film for. And the discussion on Dickens was very interesting too.

It's a bit of a mess, poorly shot and gets itself distracted. But it is still an interesting mess, particularly if you have a curiosity for the subject matter.

As an aside, I'd love to know why they used so much of the rehearsal and script reading shots instead of the actual dramatisation they filmed. It was quirky but you wonder what the point of the dramatisation was when they used so little of it. Was this always the plan? Or did they realise the making of was more interesting than the dramatisation? Perhaps they couldn't decide, so they did both?

If the scenery does not capture you or the acting inspire maybe you should see it again. The story is fascinating and placing Rae in the centre is superb. He was an amazing man. I loved the whole thing - and by the way I always thought Dickens a creep and a sponger.

I viewed this film in the company of archaeologists and arctic specialists with some connection to the current Franklin expeditions, and its authenticity was vouched for. This is not a direct adaptation of McGoogan's book, rather a hybrid of documentary styles which come together to tell a ripping good yarn. I don't understand the slagging that a couple of reviewers have given Passage, beyond the fact that they have missed some of the nuances, especially regarding the Inuit.(Tagak Curley DOES have the juice to speak for his people...note the Order of Canada lapel pin)

Even if you have already read Fatal Passage, it is worth watching this film for its lush visuals and the historical and geographical texture it lends to the tale. Well worth the investment!