In a village in eastern Turkey, tales of the economic success of Turks in Switzerland inspire Haydar to convince his wife Meryem that they must go. He sells their livestock and small plot of land in exchange for passage for two. He wants to leave their seven children in the care of the eldest and his parents; his father advises him to take one son to be educated in Europe, as economic insurance. The three set off for Istanbul, Milan, and Switzerland, stowing away on a ship. At Lake Como, they pay the rest of their money to unprincipled men who abandon them at an Alpine pass before a blizzard. Father and son are separated from Meryem. Will anyone reach the land of promise?
Reviews
The story of a poor Turkish family who try to emigrate illegally to Switzerland.Although I do not think it is necessary to appreciate the film, I know almost literally nothing about Alevism, the religious denomination the family in this film practices. The importance, if any, is really in trying to find a new identity in a new land. Does Switzerland have a Muslim community? Surely. But of this particular branch? I do not know.The tale is really rather universal. Almost all of us are immigrants or descended from immigrants. Not all of us had such a harrowing time, but the transition is never easy. And today (2017) the topic of immigration is a big one yet again, both in America and in Europe. This film really has us looking at the idea from a human perspective rather than a political one.
How many Turkish movies have you seen? This was my first. I found this movie a little better than "fair." The story was a bit depressing but the cinematography was very good. There was some beautiful night-time photography.It's the story of a Kurdish man and his wife making a trip, with one of their seven children, to Switzerland in order to find a better life. Hardships abound, thanks to unscrupulous "sympathizers" and they wind up having to travel on foot with other people over the long journey. That journey includes walking up and over snowy mountains. A tough but inspiring story, which is what it was meant to me.
This film takes you on one family's impossible journey, and makes you feel every step of their odyssey. Beautifully acted and photographed, heartbreakingly real. Its last line, with its wistful hope, is one of the more powerful in memory.
As in Argentina, France, Italy, Spain and United States, among other, they suffer of the illegal immigration. This movie transports us toward Switzerland, country recognized by its neutrality and hospitality toward the rest of the world. The main characters are a family of Turks that they yearn to be able to go to the earth of their dreams: Switzerland, to feel well, since Turkey is not very economically and labor. All clever one so that Haydar and their wife can carry out their dream, carried out passports, passages... but they will have a complication, they will take to one of their children: Mehmet Ali. Of a supposition trip of pleasure toward the "earth of their dream" will go by unexpected situations, as to travel in an export craft or to try to enter to Switzerland in hidden truck, since Mehmet Ali doesn't possess neither passage neither passport. They will be in the same situation that other immigrants that want to enter there; they will go by the Alps, a beautiful place but at the same time cold and where they will happen totally unexpected situations. Xavier Koller obtains with "Journey of Hope" an astonishing realization that makes us see that each one has the dream of being able to go to the place that offers them peace, but that they will also go by unexpected moments, with an end that could be unexpected for the spectator. Deserved of the Oscar like Best Foreign Language Film 1990/1991. My opinion: Wonderful, Human, One of the Best Foreign Film Oscar winner. Don't get lost it.