Exile by Choice

This doc was a breathe of fresh air. It was inspiring to see a couple youngsters go on the road and experience a taste of what the world has to offer with limited resources. Something I always wanted to do but never did. I enjoyed seeing all the different footage from their adventures throughout the country. Also, the music in this film is great and seems original. It sounded like it came from the main musician in the film. It was interesting to see what kind of people and situations these guys ran into. Some were funny, some not so much. I liked how honest these people were as well. It would be interesting to see what they are doing 15 years from now..

This film was outstanding. In the span of just 70-something minutes, I truly empathized and sympathized with the two protagonists' struggles, learnings, and moments of pure joy. You don't always see characterization like that in a documentary work, so Conor and Mikey really deserve a lot of credit for opening up, being completely honest, and for letting the audience into their lives while they traveled the country. I love the message that this film spreads too: if you're not happy in your current situation, figure out what needs to be changed, and change it. Rewrite the system. Mikey felt like he was stuck in "The Burbs," like many adolescents often do, but guess what- he did something about it. He got up and left, and he went on a journey with someone who was nurturing, fun, and a great companion. They both met awesome and unique people along the way, as well. I highly recommend this film to anyone who has ever had that all too often existential crisis of "What am I doing here?" and "I need to change something up in my life."

I thought "Exile by Choice" was great. Great, in the way watching "Lost Angels" is great, in the way reading William Vollmann is great. Great, like loosing your job. EbC documents a unique class, found, not only in America, but worldwide. Not class strictly defined by birth. But a class whose very aim, lies in pulling up and off that defining line and dangling somewhere in ether. These are the dreamers; but, dreamers that recognize dreaming is also a pejorative concept, so, they go where the wounds that birth dreams can walk around in the daylight, and maybe with the help of a myth, or a sobriety, or a perseverance, find meaning. I would recommend "Exile by Choice" to anyone that ever saw a train, and dreamed of striking out, to anyone, who at the mention of a foreign country goes weak in the knees, or to teachers, my niece, worried parents, or whoever felt the pain of limitation. Who hasn't?

Exile by Choice takes a peek into the curious life of Roaming Bear as he's accompanied by Mikey Rogan in his life of refuge. Mikey, after finding himself feeling lost after the death of his older brother, decides to join Bear in hope to find solace within the vastness of the road. Exile by Choice documents an often-confusing time that is all too familiar amongst young people today. While Bear seems to have settled on the idea of living his life on the road, the same cannot be said for Mikey. The tag-along quickly learns that searching public trash receptacles for food, sleeping in run-down buildings, and hitchhiking as a means to survive isn't for everyone. As a result, he is forced to evaluate weather or not this is the life for him.

Being a "traveling kid" is a lifestyle choice that many people don't understand. No matter how many times you tell your friends, family, and lovers that you absolutely adore living on the road, eating out of the trash, bathing minimally, sleeping outside, fighting off bugs and diseases, and getting town to town by complimentary rides from people and trains... more times than not they will always fail to understand the "why" of it all. To this day, I don't know that I could effectively express in words the reasons why someone would be drawn to this lifestyle, and that is because IT IS SOMETHING YOU NEED TO SHOW PEOPLE. Born Ready Films has done a great job of bringing to light the reasons for hitting the road, and the struggles that come along with that choice. For anyone who's ever desired to just "get up and go" this movie is a must see!