The Art of Travel (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

September 17, 2008 by Dennis Amith 

“A beautiful, lush film that features the thrill of traveling with risk and just enjoying the lush atmosphere captured on film via ‘The Art of Travel’.  The film has a few problems but manages to stay clear of typical cliches and inspires the adventurous nature in all of us who would love to travel.”

FILM:  The Art of Travel

DISTRIBUTED BY: First Look Studios

RATED: R (Language and Some Nudity)

DURATION: 101 minutes

DVD INFO.: 16:9, English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround, English SDH, Spanish

WEBSITE

THE TRAILER: (NOTE: Trailer has adult language)

PRODUCED BY: Bernster Productions

STARRING: Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Brooke Burns, Johnny Messner, James Duval, Jake Muxworthy, Shalim Ortiz, Angelika Baran, Ernie Lively, Bijou Phillips and Maria Conchita Alonso

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Robert Lazo, Robert J. Costano

MUSIC: Steve Bartek

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Lawson Deming

EDITED: Yesenia Higuera

CO-PRODUCED BY: Kathryn Soler

PRODUCED BY: Emyr G. Graciano, Brian La Belle, Kyle Dean Jackson, Carol Masterson, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Thomas Whelan

WRITTEN BY: Brian La Belle, Thomas Whelan

DIRECTED BY: Thomas Whelan

Conner Layne (Christopher Masterson, “Malcolm in the Middle”) is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, just not the one he planned on.  Having discovered that his fiancee is having an affair with his best friend, he dumps her at the altar and heads off on his honeymoon solo.

While experiencing the wonders that South America has to offer, including meeting two hot Swedish travelers and being robbed of all his money and belongings, he meets a friendly couple – Darlene (Brooke Burns, “Pepper Dennis”) and her husband Christopher (Johny Messner, “Tears of the Sun”) – who are planning to cross the Darien Gap, a 100-mile long streak of undeveloped jungle that separates Panama and Columbia, in a record time with a ragtag group of foreigners.

Conner decides to join the group of adventurers journeying through perilous landscape for the quest of a lifetime and gets more of an adventure then he bargained for.

I was actually quite eager in watching Thomas Whelan’s “The Art of Travel” because many people including myself have this unsettling curiosity to travel different parts of the world.  Enjoy the culture, the art, the atmosphere, the cuisine but there are those who just go for it and there are those who sit idly and continue to ponder if one should or should not travel.

And I happen to be the latter, despite having traveled to a few beautiful countries, there are far too many countries and areas that I have yet to visit and often tell myself, “when will I go for it!”

So, here we are with “The Art of Travel, an independent film written by Brian La Belle and Thomas Whelan about Conner Layne (played by Christopher Masterson, “Malcolm in the Middle” who is preparing to get married to his sweetheart Kate (played by Alex Breckenridge).

Unfortunately, he discovers that she has been cheating on him (and sleeping with his best friend) and at the wedding ceremony, dumps her and with what money he has, decides he needs to get away.

And where most people would probably just go to the nearby bar or somewhere nearby to get away, Conner actually flies out to Nicaragua in a beat-up, dangerous part of town.  Gets robbed multiple times and

He eventually meets up with a few women, hooks up with Swedish blondes and somehow manages to enjoy his stay in Nicaragua.

Instead of going back home, Conner then goes to Panama and meets a friendly couple – Darlene (played by Brooke Burns) and Christopher (played by Johnny Messner) who invite Conner to join them in their quest to cross the Darien Gap, 100 miles of thick, undeveloped jungle in record time.

This begins the adventure for Conner as he learns more about himself through traveling with Christopher, Darlene and the various team members and along the way, manages to find new love.

By watching this film, there are so many paths that this film could have gone.  Especially, playing out various cliches of good people travel, bad people try to kill them or something dire.  Fortunately, “The Art of Travel” avoids any of that.  Sure, there are some dire moments but none that are cliche.

If anything, I found myself hooked and mesmerized by the variety of footage filmed in various countries and where the storyline could have ended with Conner trekking the jungles and succeeding, the film explores his passion for traveling.

During the first half hour of the film, I found myself questioning Connor Layne’s character.  How could one not truly be upset with the terrible things that happen in his life.  Fiance messing around, being robbed multiple times, especially trekking through the jungle with a ragtag group of people for over a year doesn’t seem to bother him.  Connor doesn’t panic, in fact… you rarely see him get upset.  He just takes things as is and moves on.  Christopher Masterson plays a very interesting individual and you obviously see his character grow from beginning to end, which was good to see but rarely have I met anyone who would not get upset if those things happened to them.

As for the other cast members, Brooke Burns and Johnny Messner as the couple who lead the adventure through the Darien Gap are limited in their roles.  Brooke Burn’s Darlene is pretty much the loving wife and supportive of her husband Christopher.  As for Messner’s Christopher, you really don’t know if this guy is shady or what is his motivation until midway into the film when you realize that tragedy and knowing that life is too short is what has prompted him to conquer Darien Gap.

Conner is joined by a team of explorers which include James Duval (who played Randy Quaid’s son in “Independence Day”) and as much as their role are just the muscle and the outspoken mouths of the team, the character that shines is Angelika Baran who plays the character of Anna, who becomes the love partner of Conner.

Both Conner and Anna are the ones who experience the travel through various countries and their love for traveling shows.  From beautiful cinematography, really good selections for shots showcasing the beauty of many areas of South America.  The scenes with both Conner and Anna are breathtaking and also painful.

Also, it was good to see Maria Conchita Alonso again, this time playing Conner’s mother (although some may find it hard to picture Conner Layne having a Bolivian mother) and Christopher Masteron’s brother’s (Danny Masterson, “That 70′s show) real-life girlfriend Bijou Phillips playing the part as Conner’s younger sister.

Sure, there are some problems with the film from Conner’s non-flinching behavior, the whole Swedish blonde beauties showing off their bare breasts immediately to Conner and wanting him to come into their room is like something that is just pure fantasy novel.  And then you have Conner playing the guitar and singing “The Rainbow Connection” in Kermit the Frog style fashion (unless that’s Christopher Masterson’s real singing voice) that was a bit cheesy.  And he’s playing to his friends and a small group of children and you wonder to yourself when did they enter a village with kids?  And with a year nearly trekking through that jungle, was there really enough gas for the jeep to last that long?   How much beer did they really take with them.  Somehow the beer to food ratio was staggering. And after watching so much “LOST” on television, you wonder what the team had to eat and did they have to go hunting for wild animals?  Granted, I probably wouldn’t want to see them hunting wild pigs or poisonous snakes ala “Man vs. Wild” but I thought about it during the film.

Those are just a little of the small things in the film that irked me but overall, I found “The Art of Travel” to be an inspiring film because many people would love to travel and many don’t, may it be the reasons of financial or family obligations or other reasons but to watch a group of people doing it, for the sake of doing it because they want to.

Their hunger to do it is what makes everything possible.  Conner passes up attending Cal Berkeley to focus on his traveling, Anna has done it and kept traveling since and of course, with Christopher, wanting to do in memory of the love ones in life that were lost.

The final act features Conner traveling to various countries and immersing himself in the culture.  No, this is not Rick Steves on PBS, Conner is not traveling to the best areas of Europe but areas in the world that only the hardcore travelers would enjoy and that is living off minimal supplies and enjoying the lifestyle of the natives.

Truly an inspirational storyline enhanced by beautiful cinematography and beautiful locations within South America.  And overall a story that I did enjoy.

VIDEO:

Fortunately the video is featured in 16×9 widescreen.  Again, the visuals are just beautiful when you get to see the serene areas of South America.

AUDIO:

Audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround.  Also, English SDH and Spanish Subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

This is where I was a bit disappointed.  With so much traveling featured in various countries, it would have been wonderful to have commentary or even a featurette.  But  there was nothing but previews.  Eliminating the previews, there really aren’t any major special features.

This is one of those films that you would imagine there being a lot of behind-the-scenes footage, gag reel or interviews with the cast.   There were production diaries for the film available on YouTube but even if these were included on the DVD would have been cool.  So, I was a bit disappointed about that there were no special features included on the DVD.

For those of you who enjoy traveling or have future plans of traveling, especially to South America, definitely give “the Art of Travel” a try.

It’s a very ambitious independent film that features beautiful scenery that will not just inspire you but a storyline that I found refreshing that it was not a film that incorporated too many cliches, nor was it boring or mundane.

I saw the film as an evolution of the character Layne in several acts.  The first of a man who is lost.  The second of a man who is getting to know more about himself.  The third of a man who finds love but what “love” in his life is he willing to devote his life to?  And the final act that shows how the man has grown through his passion for traveling.

I enjoyed “The Art of Travel” for its inspirational storyline and its beautiful atmosphere.  I just wish the DVD went further in featuring that beauty via a featurette with behind-the-scenes footage, getting the cast and creators to discuss the making of the film via interviews or commentary.   I just wanted more after watching the film.  But at least you can find the production diaries on YouTube.

But overall, “The Art of Travel” is a film worth watching.

OVERALL RATING FOR THE FILM: B-

OVERALL RATING FOR THE DVD: C-