Journey Man

A film by Dictynna Hood 2002, 14 mins

The story follows an unlikely but beautiful union of black and white as an illegal immigrant arrives in Wales. The film is cutup in time and place, with quiet displays of violent and shocking incidents. Mohammed runs from the murder of his father in Sierra Leone, and runs straight into his problems, but in a wholly different situation. It's Christmas time in the dreary pub of Connie and Griff. Verging on the surreal, the behaviour of the couple and the intruding foreigner creates a weird outsider feeling. The landlord cruelly ejects him from the pub, but the landlady's maternal desires turn the film around, from hostility and violence to the kindness of strangers. The connection between the characters is tense but loving as they deal with bereavement over a cup of tea. An average living room becomes memories. The lighting at this point is fascinating as the room brightens and darkens suddenly to bring the pair closer into solidarity. Mohammed's incongruity grows stronger as he sees reminders, like kitsch wooden antelopes harking back to the landscape of Sierra Leone. At one visually stunning point his first experience of snow resembles dry soil falling through his fingers. He is at home and so far away from home.Several unmentioned stories surround this film, each as intriguing as the next. The ending could lead on to new stories, and is a thoughtful conclusion to the theme of intolerance between races. I love the fact that this happens through a very simple need for the love of a family member. A wonderful, moving film, which deserves to be seen on the large screen.

Julia Worley, Aesthetica Magazine