A Passage to Ottawa

It was a pleasure watching this charming and heartwarming film. I went to see it without really knowing anything about it and found myself falling in love with the movie from the very beginning. It has such a simple yet emotionally satisfying premise - a young boy searching for a hero to save his dying mother. The young actor made all the difference. Besides his personal charisma and cuteness he also happens to be a real natural, effortlessly performing in from of a camera. This goes for the rest of the cast too. It's just amazing how such a small film with unknown cast and crew can create such a beautiful movie.

A gem of a film!

I had not heard of this film and had no idea what to expect from it but when I saw it I was overwhelmed. It is a very sweet and very moving film which speaks to you on so many levels. The kid who plays the lead role is a real natural.

A Passage to Ottawa is a superb family film in the league of Kolya, Children of Haven, and Central Station - sans the need for English subtitles - driven by emotions and story plot rather than sex and action.

The film is very touching, possibly due to outstanding performance of actors on its racial harmony family theme, or perhaps due to its excellent cinematography and direction, or may be due to its superb story plot centered around a 8 year old boy from India with great east-west music.

The story takes place in Canada. The fatherless boy Omi is in search of a comic-card hero to take home to India with him to care for his ailing mother. After a couple of misjudgments, he finds Roland, black captain of a local tour-boat. Omi changes his vision of hero from being white to someone who loves orange soda.

The teenage Safia born of Asian Indian father and white Canadian mother, who is taking care of Omi, pretends she has nothing Indian in her. She gets in romance with the much older Roland using Omi as an excuse to meet often with him.

The film beautifully presents the cultural mosaic of Canada in the integration perspective. Shot during and after the tulip festival in the spring, the film shows the Canadian capital in a storybook setting.

Although visiting from India, Omi surprisingly has no accent.

I was lucky enough to attend the premiere of this film. I went to the screening with no expectations and was thrilled by my viewing experience. Passage to Ottawa is a beautiful story about multiculturalism, love and the search for a hero. This film also challenges the typical stereotypes of what a hero is. This film is also a wonderful aesthetic journey full of vibrant colours and characters. Warning: you may want to have some orange crush on hand. I left this film craving a glass.

The cinematography on this film is outstanding; it really showcases Ottawa beautifully. The director was excellent. Although the female lead actor was not always believable, most of the other actors were. The plot of this film was a balance between the predictable and the unexpected. The ending is great. All in all, I was very impressed with this low-budget Canadian-made film. The producers should applaud themselves. You do us Canadians proud. We need more good Canadian films.

The leading boy in the film was great -- very cute, adorable, and a good actor too. The plot had interesting undertones and provided a glimpse into new Canadians' lives.

I would recommend it for families, the young and the young at heart. Go with minimal expectations and you will be delightfully surprised.