The Journey Is the Destination

The life of Dan Eldon is a story and adventure and tragedy which has all the ingredients for a great film adaption. Sadly the director here was not the man to carry it off, running scared of global and sensitive politics and badly misjudging the aura that the art direction would cast over the film. It plays more like a Sunday morning teen safari report for some children's channel. The first hour or more is done so poorly that you could actually skip it without losing anything of the film. It is littered with cringe-worthy moments with actors who look no older than 14. The seriousness of a life of photojournalism and art in some of Africa's most poverty stricken and war-torn countries is completely overlooked in exchange for teenage safaris and soppy scenes of light kissing and rolling about. The film does improve a little when we finally get to Somalia, but is still a major disappointment and still cops out and purposely evades the sensitive issues of international politics, religion and culture which all combined to result in the death of 4 respected journalists. I just hope that if ever I get hacked to death that this director doesn't direct it. Give it a miss... You'll be missing nothing.

A powerful homage to the life of Dan Eldon, his dedication to the work he was doing and the relentlessness of his spirit. I think this film did a very good job of balancing the brutality of the conflict with the beauty of life in Africa, and the hope that can be found even in the darkest of times. Other reviews have mentioned privilege and 'lack of perspective', though truly his mission was to provide perspective about the conflict to those in real positions of power in the west. To enlighten them and correct the blindness that was the norm at the time. All this to say, even if you aren't in love with the film, you will fall in love with Dan and in turn, his love of life.

I would urge you all to do more research about him and get involved with his continued legacy!

The first half was like watching an afternoon school special of spoiled expats living the vida loca in Africa, taking road trips, eating rats, and making fun of the indigineous people. The second half could have used a steady cam. I'm sure he was a great guy, but what about the other three that died with him?

The movie got wrong on the clan system, meaning the cast system where a large segment of the population is discarded does not exist.

No background information was invested in this movie.

In the film, Dan Eldon references that there are alternative ways to get an education. Let's start that initiative by playing this film in all high school history classes across the world. Not only is there a history lesson here about the civil war that was happening in Somalia in 1993, there are lessons on passion, foreign policy, and the power of media to name a few. Watching this film in 2018 I couldn't help but see striking parallels in our society today. In the film, the UN forces are fighting enemies of hunger, disease, corruption and apartheid. In the United States alone we continue to fight racial injustice, the leading cause of death is heart disease, and although hunger isn't our problem, obesity is. The greatest lesson of all in the film is Dan's belief that people are not born hating other people. Rather, that trait is stemmed from the conditions of their environment and it is forced on them when their ignorance runs out. Also that the media has the power to change the way you think and impact political action. While this is an amazing power, it also is a good reminder, especially for youth, that the media has biases and it is important to know how to sort through quality news sources. All in all, an inspiring and eye-opening story that needs to be shared.