Au sud des nuages

A very enjoyable film that follows five old farmers from Switzerland who decide to take a train journey all the way to China. While this might seem like a very bizarre premise, the film works quite well. The film focuses on "the leader" of the group, an old salt named Adrien who is a man of few words. The trip to China, while starting off very badly, will have a profound effect on his life and on his way of seeing the world around him. He has kept his emotions to himself for so long that he does not know what to do when he feels pain ,sadness or joy. The film includes scenes shot in Switzerland, Germany, Russia, Mongolia and China but it is not a boring travelogue. We see these countries as places where ordinary people try to eke out a living and attempt to live as happily as possible.They don't always succeed. There are a few sad moments in the film but the lasting impression is one of hope. There are also some very funny moments to balance out the feel of the film. Recommended viewing.

The haunting images of this film take the viewer on a journey from the Swiss mountains to China, with a lonely man who cannot speak about his pain, until the very end. How you feel about this story and about its main character will probably depend on where you come from. While some of the background and people are uniquely Swiss, the stoicism of the hero is known in many other parts of the world, mountains as well as prairies; any place where men (and women)live alone, in rural isolation, proud of their independence yet suffering from a deep loneliness that they can't even articulate to themselves.

I would like to add that this is neither a depressing film nor a slow one -- the journey moves swiftly, there are many humorous and poignant moments, and at 85 minutes, you find yourself getting to China almost too soon. And if the end is more allegorical than realistic, it has a poetic quality that I found touching and memorable.