Voyage en Chine

"'Voyage en Chine' or 'Journey through China' seems like a tired cliché and in many ways it is, but the soft, melancholic vein that runs throughout the movie of that name takes it beyond the handicap of being a cliché. Photographer Zoltan Mayer's first feature film, which is filled with raw, real and relatable depictions of the challenges and surprises faced when being in a foreign country, follows a sad, soft-spoken mother Liliane (Yolande Moreau) as she mourns the death of her son Christophe while travelling from France to China to ensure that he is given a proper burial there.  Mayer spends a long time on Liliane's bewilderment over a foreign language and way of life. The locals, in turn, are just as bewildered by her. The movie has many delightful scenes such as those in which Liliane teaches the owner of her guesthouse to bake bread and where commuters help her use the ticket vending machine. The storyline is touching if predictable with Liliane developing an attachment for the place that her son chose to settle down in and loved dearly. But the plot also has gaps. For instance, it is not made clear how Christophe died. However Mayer's keen photographer's eye makes every scene an absolute visual pleasure."