Expedition Happiness

I think these guys did a pretty good job with this movie . It is exactly what it was was set out to be - an invitation to see Canada and Mexico and whatever else in between, through their eyes and to accompany them on their journey . I didn't start watching this movie because I wanted to see a break though in cinema, I did it because I'm stuck in London at the moment and I'm craving for that wonderlust feeling of going and exploring places. That's what the poster sold and I bought it. I think they've accomplished exactly that to make you remember what life can be like on the road, or make you wonder if you've never done it before "could I pull this off? Sure as hell converting that bus looks like hard work.." If you're expecting "Into the wild" -don't! It's something else completely. it's been quite a few weeks since I watched it and I keep thinking back to those amazing shots from Alaska and the beautiful scenery from Canada. For that I will give them a 6. Just because it stuck with me and the soundtrack was good.

I don't understand why Netflix bought documentary. This seems like it could have a been a simple forgettable 15 minutes video on YouTube that I would watch and never think of again, instead I've spent 90+ mins waiting for it to get better or at least validate me choosing to watch it, but it never got to that point.

The fact that they are not comfortable English speakers is obvious and a bit cringeworthy at times, but better filmmakers have overcome that fact. Maybe the German version is better. There is a no point/arc to this documentary, which would have been completely reasonable for a random YouTube travel video/vlog but I expect higher quality for something on Netflix. Like other reviewers, (I don't know how to explain this) they seem like the annoying rich kids that always seem to whine/complain instead of having a more "let's get this done attitude". It might be due editing. I think they were trying to portray a realistic part of travelling, where everything isn't perfect but that is not how it is seen, at least by me.

Even the one positive thing turns out to be not-so-positive. The music for the film is done by Selima and I like it, but it sounds like the same song being repeated for the whole movie. The music is such a cliche, the typical white girl in her 20's with an acoustic guitar strumming and singing slowly/gently. Coffee shops across the world are littered with type of music playing in the background. It's nothing special but not bad neither in a way that it doesn't annoy you.

Overall I would recommend potential viewers to skip this and search for something more interesting on YouTube when the itch to watch a travel video strikes you. If we were at the beginning stages of the self-made travel videos era, this might have been passable. But other self-made travel videos have set the bar so high now that the industry has had time to mature, (in my opinion) these two simply do not make the cut. The fact that it was 90+ mins and it was on Netflix, I expect at least something that was 7.5/10 but I can barely give this 4/10.

It's not going to win any awards most likely. But Jesus some of you haters need to get some happiness in your life. It's a fun adventure that could certainly use some more explanation along the way. But I'm next to sure they did more living filming this than half of you couch potatoes spewing your hate.

So I agree that these two people did some dumb things and maybe complained too much. They also put their dog through a lot unfortunately. However, it did seem like they cared about the dog and tried to take care of it as best they could under the circumstances but maybe bringing the dog along in the first place was a bad idea. I'm not sure. I do also agree that this isn't really a very meaningful journey. It's just like others have said, a home movie. However, I wasn't bored. It was interesting to see them in different places and see what they experienced. It's fine. It probably could have been a lot better if they had tried to learn something from the whole journey (besides how to kill they dog). A documentary should contain a story and you should be able to take something away from it. Otherwise? Just make a vlog or something.

I didn't have much expectations for this based on the title. But I love travel, the mountains, and the road and this film really touched me. For amateurs the cinematogra[hy is excpetional and so is the soundtrack. Did I mention I love the mountains?

I don't understand all of the harsh reviews. Clearly they made some mistakes, but they are a friendly and engagining people. Maybe it is just internet hate, maybe I just long for the road. And ok, yes that bus was too damn big! They can't go naywhere in the city, They can't go far on mountain roads. And how they hell were they planning on getting it past the Darian Gap to Colombia???

Still, a beautiful journey with some great scenery and music. Enjoy.