This intimate French film tells the story of Reda (Nicolas Cazale), a young man just weeks away from his college exams, whose strained relationships with both his father (Mohamed Majd) and his culture are put to the test when he drives the older man on his pilgrimage to Mecca.

Reviews were rave, complimenting for being very human. I watched this film with another friend having a strained relationship with his father. It was indeed one of the more sincere and 'real' movie I watched in recent times. The release is timely for Hari Raya Haji and the final scene of the Mecca was spectacular.

You watch for what is not said more than what is said. It was frustrating for me, as many issues were left unanswered. I wished for a better ending, and it seem to be a 'father bias' movie. The father had every right to throw away the cell phone while the son had to tolerate being wronged. Was it equal and fair? It wasn't. But nothing's ever really equal and fair in this world isn’t it?

I am not defending either sides here, but issues could have been more evenly dealt with. Perhaps that was the way the director had intended it to be in the first place.

La Grand Voyage – A journey not reached