The Wind Journeys

I expected to see a journey across Colombia's diverse geographical and cultural landscapes...and I was not disappointed. And as a second-language Spanish learner, I wanted to hear authentic Colombian Spanish...and I did. In fact, "The Wind Journeys" is a very well filmed journey across Colombia; I could see it winning an award for best cinematography. But the story about the current owner of the devil's accordion who, after the death of his wife vows to never play again, embarks on a journey to return the instrument to its rightful owner, including the ending, just didn't click for me.

Perhaps the times they are a changing, or maybe I've changed. I think in the 1980s, when I was 30 years younger, full of enthusiasm to travel the world and learn about exotic cultures, reading novels by García Márquez and more hopeful about life in general, I would have liked "The Wind Journeys" a lot more, or I would have just enjoyed watching it without caring if I bought the premise.

The premise of "The Wind Journeys" isn't as ridiculous as that of "Central Station" (another beautifully filmed and culturally-interesting story but which is based on a ludicrous premise). Yet even without the ongoing violence of the drug lords or the 40+ years of the ongoing FARC rebellion simmering in the background, the Colombia we see in "The Wind Journeys" is a violent, cruel, macho place where it's hard for me to have sympathy for anyone...because what good would that do? In spite of the great filming technique, this is not the Colombia of magical realism, this is the Colombia where a bit of hope swims hopelessly in a sea of hopelessness.

Mark Twain wrote that readers of romantic novels should love the good people, hate the bad people, and always be able to tell the two apart. I guess the two protagonists are the "good" guys in a world of "bad" guys, but I just didn't find myself caring deeply about their fates. Having said that, I would recommend this film for my hardcore Southamericanophile friends who want to see the wondrous and horrible beauty of Colombia. But I'm glad I didn't make my wife go with me to see this film at our local art-house theatre. In fact, I may go out and rent "La triste e increíble historia de la cándida Eréndira y su abuela desalmada" to cheer myself up, or maybe I'll put on my favorite Carlos Vives CD. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Even if You have NEVER visited COLOMBIA.... I am SURE You will ENJOY this AMAZING film! ....If You HAVE... You will really LOVE it!

Before diving in... FIRST... Let us FOCUS on the Title´s Content and Context:

Los VIAJES Del VIENTO/JOURNEYS Of The WIND is definitely an acquired taste. Embarrassingly... I must admit...My wife and I fell asleep the first time we saw it, being very tired, and probably missed over half the film. The vibrant music and some of the images kept on resonating in our brains! So...We decided to see it again. Lucky twist of fate, that! JOURNEYS Of The WIND (My title translation) took us places we had never been, showed us sights we had never seen and treated us to music we had never heard. One thing is for sure: Majagual, Colombia is about as far away from Hollywood as you could ever get!

28 year-old director Ciro Guerra's stated goal in making JOURNEYS: Share his spiritual communion connection with Vallenatos. (A style of Colombian music, the popularity of which has been growing exponentially outside its borders for three decades) With one brief, inconspicuous exception, there are literally no "Time-markers" in JOURNEYS!

Like music itself, this film is TIMELESS! A folkloric Faustian music video psycho-drama that should appeal to anyone who one Sunday morning might say "Today I feel like an art exhibit in the morning, an international music festival in the afternoon and an exotic foreign film at night!" JOURNEYS facilitates doing all three at once. Director Guerra purposefully uses each frame as a canvass.

Music in cinema is usually tailored to images as something of an afterthought. Here, it seems as if Guerra has molded his visuals to the music, with a startlingly refreshing and keenly aesthetic look. JOURNEYS, reflecting real life, does not spoon feed you anything. SH*T happens...You make of it what you may!

8.5********* (Perhaps 10* after our 3rd viewing!?!?!?)

ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

Any Comments, Questions or Observations... In ENGLISH... o en ESPAÑOL... are most Welacome!

Los viajes del viento (2009), shown in the U.S. as The Wind Journeys, was written and directed by Ciro Guerra.

This movie was fascinating to me because it opened up windows to a culture and a music with which I'm not familiar. The setting is rural northeastern Colombia, and the music is vallenato, in which the primary instrument is the accordion.

Los viajes is basically a road movie. The story is that a young man follows an older vallenato master as he wanders through rural Colombia, attempting to return an accordion which has mystical properties.

The plot consists of the people they meet, and the experiences they encounter on the journey.

Being unfamiliar with the region and its music, I can't comment on how accurately these are portrayed. The relationship between the man and the boy certainly doesn't conform to the feel-good connection that would surely develop in a U.S. film. Also, the entire movie is more like fantasy than realistic fiction or documentary. However, I admit that people from the region could say, "Actually, that's the way it is."

This is an unusual and fascinating movie, and definitely worth seeing. It will work better on a large screen than a small one, but it will be worth seeking out in either format. (We saw it at the Rochester 360-365 film festival which, despite its ridiculous name, is an excellent event.)

Finally a film that plays that elusive music of soul that made one hooked to cinema in the first place.

This film maps the formative process of an artist from a spiritual perspective; the process of impregnating a forming soul with an experience so intense, complex and mystifying that the young soul will spend its entire lifetime trying to decipher its pain and meaning, and the only glimpses of its meaning will arrive through art, there is no other way.

This is a beautiful approach that emphasizes that a master's primary role is not in teaching the art or the skill to the apprentice, but to go a level deeper and impart in the apprentice the kind of experience that will automatically give birth to great art irrespective of the medium.

Contrast this film with Hollywood's treatment to the same theme, Walter Hill's Crossroads (1986), which superficially glosses over the experience part and ultimately succumbs to the glamorous but shallow pandering of the skill part.

Different to the classic Colombian movies. A journey throw the diversity of the Caribbean cost of Colombia, its people and its music.

Refreshing and well made.

It is very interesting that the lead actor is actually a well known Valletano singer. His songs a lot more popular than his funny name: Marciano.

The selection of songs along the movie is perfect. Traditional Vallenatos that this movie will always help to remember.

Ciro Guerra, the director, is making a great effort to show people around the world the most beautiful and forgotten places of the north region of Colombia.