I was recently asked to think about the topic ‘Journeys of Love’ in relation to films. My mind instantly went to stories like Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet and Steven McQueen’s Lovers Rock, but then I watched Carol Morley’s Typist Artist Pirate King, and something clicked. Like with any journey, physical or metaphorical, it’s often easiest to focus on the destination. But Morley’s latest film is a road movie with a difference, and as I was watching, I suddenly realised that if I want to look at journeys in film, it’s the stories that focus on just that area that often show the most love of all. The film follows artist Audrey Amiss, who persuades her psychiatric nurse to take her to Sunderland to have her work featured in an exhibition. It’s a fictionalised story, based on extensive research of Amiss’ archive at the Wellcome Collection, which uses her assembly of art and life to build the narrative. As well as being an incredible portrait of an unknown artist, the film let me see the love that we can find in journeys, whether spontaneous or thoroughly planned.
Sometimes journeys start quite loudly, we know what the plan is and where we’re headed, but every now and then something starts that we don’t quite realise until we’re already on our path. I think a great example of this is looking at the origin of my favourite super hero’s powers.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released at the end of 2018 and continues to receive overwhelming critical acclaim. It tells us a different story to the ones we’re used to with the other Spider-Man films, but it begins in a similar way. Someone is bitten by a radioactive spider and suddenly has super powers. These people don’t want this responsibility, but after deciding to go on the journey they’ve been offered, they realise the power they have and how they can change the world with it. And of course there is love along the way.
I think I’ve always been drawn to Spider-Man as a super hero for a few reasons. We had the DVDs growing up, Peter Parker is in high school and I could relate to him as a nerdy teenager, and I loved the idea of Spider-Gwen when I knew she existed. These films show us big stories that are fun to watch, but we often can’t really relate to. There are moments in our life that begin journeys of love for us, but we often don’t know they’ve begun until we’re on the ride. It might be meeting a new friend, starting a new job, finding a new church. Like Miles in that film clip, journeys aren’t always linear and typical, so we can often accidentally ignore the signs that one is beginning.
In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Miles’ journey is one that presents him with many struggles, but it also brings him such joy and friendship that he wouldn’t have had without it.
Thinking now to physical journeys that everyone takes, I want to look at such a fun film, What We Did on Our Holiday. It came out in 2014 and follows a family heading to grandad’s big 75th birthday party in Scotland. The parents, played by David Tennant and Rosamund Pike, are on the verge of divorce and their three children are unable to keep that secret from the rest of the family. Made by the same people who created BBC classic Outnumbered, this film is so sweet, and captures the realness that so many families face when trying to leave their home, whether for school, a short trip, or a holiday. I wanted to show you the beginning of their journey in this clip from the start of the film.
Everyday journeys like this are often short and sweet in hindsight but can feel so hectic during the actual period. Journeys can be stressful, and watching films like What We Did on Our Holiday makes me realise the things my parents did for me and my siblings when growing up. We can feel rushed and busy, leading hectic lives, but it’s always important to stop and show love to the people we care about, whether it’s making time to go to a family party, or supporting your child with their growing rock collection. Even if they’re something that everyone goes through, journeys can be stressful and long, and often bring out a range of emotions. Films like this are wonderful at showing physical journeys we often take with family, and how that sacred time can feel frustrating and temperamental, but also bring joy and great memories. A more grown-up feeling version is Little Miss Sunshine, which stars a stellar cast in a journey to a beauty pageant. It came out in 2006 and was nominated for and won many awards. I often see clips and edits of this film online, highlighting the darkly hilarious moments that are pure genius, but also the times in the film when each character reaches an important point in their personal journeys. Even though we’re rooting for the character of Olive to win her pageant in the main storyline, as an audience, we’re drawn into the life of this dysfunctional family, and feel with them. Whether we can relate to their stories or not, we want to be with them as they take their physical journey together, and hopefully see them joyous at the end.
Some of my favourite films to watch are ones that take place in one day. Movies like Pirates and Rye Lane, which have come out in the last few years, often focus on 24-hour journeys and are filled with wonderful conversations. Pirates is a 2021 release from director Reggie Yates, and I think like most audience members, I fell in love with the joy and music that flowed through the story. Journeys in films like this are quick, often emotional and concentrated to one place, and finding love is usually the main aim of the key characters. This narrative is slightly switched with Rye Lane which follows two people who have just come out of relationships, and we see them support each other with the wishes they have before moving on from their past partners. Written by Nathan Byron and Tom Melia, the dialogue the characters have is incredibly thought out, and I’d love to show you a short clip of it.
Films are often jam packed with action, and when learning to write scripts, people recommend taking everything out that doesn’t need to be there. I sometimes agree with this, but some of my favourite moments in films are when the characters talk about their dreams and goals in a way that allows the audience to learn more about them, as well as the fellow characters in the story, even if we won’t see that goal come true for them in the film. The dialogue in Rye Lane reminds me to focus on the path we’re taking, and not just look at the destination. We have to have fun in the present, share our dreams with people and enjoy the now, not just think about the future. You never know who you might meet and how they may change your original plans. Rye Lane is a film filled with love for South London, friendships and possibilities. Even though we might be able to guess what the ending will be, the joy of watching this comes from the journey of love that the characters go on.
I think one of the biggest film franchises that shows a journey is The Lord of the Rings, and this is the final clip I’d like to show you.
Whether it’s this trilogy or The Hobbit, we’re treated to gorgeous music scores and cinematic walking with incredible views and epic heroes. We have a lot of places to visit in these stories, and obviously they have to speed up the travel time or the audience would get bored, but I really appreciate that it isn’t completely cut. The productions could’ve saved a lot of money to get rid of moments like this, and really focus on the action instead, but including them shows just how important this journey is to Middle Earth and the people involved. In life, not all of our journeys are as big and dangerous as taking the ring to Mordor, but they still have moments of grand cinema, where we need to stop and appreciate the journey we’re taking in life.
Journeys of love aren’t always linear, and the love found along the way and at the destination isn’t always typical. Frodo and Sam’s commitment to each other and their cause is monumental. It’s beautiful and inspiring, but not always easy for them. They have to trust each other and the journey they’re on.
I spend a lot of time thinking about the future. Buying a house, planning holidays, thinking of films I’d like to make one day, but right now, my pension is taking up a lot of brain space – something where the journey feels frustrating and hidden, but I know that I’ll thank myself in the end. In a movie, I wouldn’t have to worry about something like this, and when the time comes for me to claim it, I’d deal with it and the consequences then. The journey would see me meeting a group of friends who help me sort it out in a comedy drama style piece. But life isn’t written like that, with a credits list at the end. We never know what the future might bring, and often the best journeys start when we just have to jump in.
It’s been lovely finding these film clips and thinking about the journeys I’ve enjoyed watching over the years, whether they’re long, short, physical, metaphorical or emotional. There are so many films that take us on journeys, it’s been hard not to just list them off, but I wanted to make sure that each one I talked about came back to that idea of love. Whether it’s the destination or the friends we made along the way, journeys in film take us to so many places and remind us of the joy they can bring.
It’s a good reminder to spend time focusing on the journeys we’re on, enjoying them and all the highs, lows and fun times they bring. Sure, endings are good, but we can find love along the way too.
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