A few years ago film maker Gor Baghdasaryan sent me a polite email asking me to review his travelogue film Hit The Road India. A quirky backpacking adventure of sorts but one that felt a little bit empty since it focussed on the protagonists Keith and Nic rather than the country itself . Gor is back as are Keith and Nic . More of the same you ask ?
Somewhat sadly the major flaw of the previous documentary is repeated here . Cambodia ? What's that place name mean to you ? For me it's a country populated by fericous killers in black pyjamas and pink tea towels hell bent if not making everyone equal then at least making the average Kampuchean superior to their hated enemies next door in Vietnam . If you want a potted history of the Khmer Rouge then you'll have to scour youtube, As it stands Hit The Road Cambodia points out that if you're a hungry tourist in Cambodia you can have a nice bowl of fried insects. Yum . And that's about it as far as free advertising for a tourist market goes
Some free sponsorship for a far away exotic land isn't what this documentary is about . In my review of the prior documentary I stated that my own dream trip to India became something of a nightmare . This happens to a lot of travellers . They become the focus of hatred and envy and who isn't going to be jealous of Keith and Nic ? You probably won't after seeing them in action here. Nearly everything that can go wrong does indeed go wrong. What once started as a race becomes quickly forgotten as bad luck crashes in to more bad luck . In other words Keith and Nic become victims of circumstance and if either of them jump to the conclusion that some spiritual being is having a sadistic joke then you can't blame them
In all this is the perfect extension to the previous documentary in that backpacking isn't all hedonistic frivolous fun and games . It's quite gloomy in places and nails how lonely it can be in a far off foreign country. Most of all you should be thankful that at least you've got your health
Somewhat sadly the major flaw of the previous documentary is repeated here . Cambodia ? What's that place name mean to you ? For me it's a country populated by fericous killers in black pyjamas and pink tea towels hell bent if not making everyone equal then at least making the average Kampuchean superior to their hated enemies next door in Vietnam . If you want a potted history of the Khmer Rouge then you'll have to scour youtube, As it stands Hit The Road Cambodia points out that if you're a hungry tourist in Cambodia you can have a nice bowl of fried insects. Yum . And that's about it as far as free advertising for a tourist market goes
Some free sponsorship for a far away exotic land isn't what this documentary is about . In my review of the prior documentary I stated that my own dream trip to India became something of a nightmare . This happens to a lot of travellers . They become the focus of hatred and envy and who isn't going to be jealous of Keith and Nic ? You probably won't after seeing them in action here. Nearly everything that can go wrong does indeed go wrong. What once started as a race becomes quickly forgotten as bad luck crashes in to more bad luck . In other words Keith and Nic become victims of circumstance and if either of them jump to the conclusion that some spiritual being is having a sadistic joke then you can't blame them
In all this is the perfect extension to the previous documentary in that backpacking isn't all hedonistic frivolous fun and games . It's quite gloomy in places and nails how lonely it can be in a far off foreign country. Most of all you should be thankful that at least you've got your health