A
Passage to Ottawa (2001)
If I said that "A Passage to Ottawa" is about a love
triangle between a 10 year old Indian boy recently moved
to Ottawa, his 17 year old female cousin (also of Indian
descent) and a 30 year old black man, I wouldn't really
be lying. But this isn't about sexual love, at least
not between the man and boy. Instead, the boy is looking
for a hero, someone to take back home to India to help
care for his ailing mother. He is looking for a father
figure, a strong, smart, loving man to head his family.
He finds a candidate in Roland, the captain of a tour
boat.
Subtle, smart, funny and poignant, the film is really
well written and well crafted. Jameel Khaja does an
awesome job behind the typewriter. I wouldn't be surprised,
nor disappointed, if this one walked away with the big
prize for screenwriting at this year's at Austin Film
Festival. The complex triangle, complete with mythical
narration about what constitutes a hero and witty dialogue
about what to look for in a man is quite nice. The teenage
girl, who helps the young boy try to find a candidate,
and who falls in love with Roland herself, tells her
young male cousin to be careful about "going to fast"
with a man. She tells him to look for a man that is
his "type." She seems to be speaking from experience
and she even heeds her own advice. It's amusing and
it works.
The acting in the film is very nice with Nabil Mehta,
as Omi, the boy, doing a pretty good job for a young
man in such a large role. He isn't perfect, mind you,
but we like him and understand his plight. The subtle
dialogue is quite well drawn with Omi asking people
if he has broken things or hurt people because he feels
responsible for making his mother sick. So he doesn't
know quite how to deal with people. Mehta is well suited
for this as his acting is a bit stiff. It's not a deficit
to the film, because it works well within the confines
of the script. It's even a bit surprising that this
character would speak English as well as Mehta does,
so some difficulty with language and speaking fit the
role. Meanwhile, Amy Sobol as Safia, the young girl
is quite nice too. But it is Jim Codrington as Roland
who really makes the movie work. We believe his love
for Safia even though he is obviously a bit too old
foe her. We believe his care for Omi. We want to see
everything work out here.
Beautifully filmed, well paced and expertly written,
"A Passage to Ottawa" is a nice film about love, hero-worship,
coming of age and family. It has a unique story and
nice acting and everything you could possible want in
a film that warms your heart. Not to be missed.
Note:
Directed by Gaurav Seth.
This Film Reviewed
from the 2001 Austin Film festival!
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Report
Card
Script:
A+
Acting: B+
Cinematography\Lighting: B
Special Effects\Make Up: A
Music: B-
Final
Grade: A
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