Animated Journeys
Some of the things that we recently learned not to take for granted – but are still definitely needed – are our journeys, in their personal and cultural signification.
They need to be physical even if they involve a coming-of-age procedure, or present an identity-forming experience. They cannot but involve other people, even if they are journeys of self-discovery. They are filled in with exciting, dramatic, hallucinating, bittersweet experiences. They take place in defining settings: a junkyard, the big sea and the still important river, the draught and the desert, the forest and the town. The theatres of movement and action lead to preconceptions being overturned, to challenges that cannot remain unanswered, and point out the relations that need to be redefined.
Amazingly, all the different films, authors, and countries tell a very familiar story: whatever the place is that you are being attached to, there are really no strings attached – just grab your old backpack and explore the films.