Posted by NYC XYZ on 02/25/06 21:58

nowater wrote:
>
>
> I borrowed the DVD from the local library about 2 years ago. These 2
> lads were NOT tourists, they were true travellers.

Hell yeah! I kept thinking, my God, what the hell was I doing as a
twenty year-old? I was in college. The next year, feeling that
adventure was needed, I...joined the Army!

That was interesting enough, but really, I should have been truly brave
and done an expedition like these two! Bravo, chaps!

> They were not
> hardened travellers either, so all the more respect to them.

Actually, in the book -- though not in the film -- it is revealed
straight from the beginning that these two had some hiking and camping
trips underneath their belt before this journey. As a matter of fact,
Tim was in Finland on scholarship for some kind of wilderness guide
survival course!!! Chris had made a cross-country cycle of Australia!!
Etc.

But that doesn't discount their achievement at all, of course. My God,
it is truly inspirational when you think about it!

> I watched
> it 3 times, my wife once, and my daughters twice - which is a huge
> recommendation, as I am the only cyclist in the family.

It's a better video than I'd expected, though it's much too short and I
hope someone sees fit for a real documentary one day...it really brings
the book to life, but, oddly enough, while it supplies what the book
misses -- visceral excitement (and I don't mean simply on account of
the visuals; let's face it; the book's just another crazyguyonabike.com
journal, really [no disrespect to crazyguyonabike.com, I hope y'all
understand]) -- it lacks what the book supplies: extended context, such
as the aforementioned fact that these two adventurers were experienced
outdoorsmen.

Really, you need the two together, both book and film, and even then
both are too short and still rather lacking...this epic really deserves
its Homer!

> Real hardships, real danger, threat and fear, real sense of community
> and empathy developed with the local peoples. They grew enormously
> over the course of a year or so, and they survived: a true adventure.
> Highly recommended.

Agreed! I must say that I was surprised to find myself enjoying the
soundtrack, too! I was afraid it was going to be elevator muzak, but,
especially towards the end, it really fitted well! David Skinner is
the composer...it just touches New Age stuff, but is mostly like folk
music -- Russian, Oriental, etc. -- and not intrusive at all.

> Lots of footage of the recumbents (try riding unsuspended recumbents
> down the middle of the trans siberian railway, like these boys did
> when they discovered there was NO ROAD!). But it's not "about the
> recumbents".

Erratum: their 'bents were front-suspended, and yes it's too bad
neither the film nor even the book goes into detail about the bikes.
With up to 200 lbs. of gear, you'd think they wanted some rear
suspension as well!

> So the DVD gets a tick: suggest you try obtaining a copy.

Actually, I suggest folks buy one. I don't think you can go wrong
owning it. Very beautiful shots. Too bad, at ~53 min., it's more like
a promotional piece rather than a proper documentary which helps you
understand. As it is, it just gives a whiff, a taste, and leaves you
wondering what's around the corner.

I seriously hope someone does this adventure justice! Imagine Marco
Polo scoring but a footnote upon his return. This DVD is discontinued
and not widely available; I got my copy from HMV Australia in a few
days.

Maybe I should become a film student and contact these guys...surely
they have much more footage, really interesting stuff. As it is, this
video, while good and better than a jaded viewer like me had expected,
is still too much like only looking at pictures in the middle of the
book without reading the book itself. (Their book is also rather like
that, though; chronicling their journey properly will require a more
literary ethos.)

For example, it would make a very interesting "theme" to contrast their
Russian experiences against their limited and much shorter Chinese
ones, insofar as they had no hassle from officials in Russia/Siberia
but had trouble in China. Despite the good folks they've met in both
countries (though in or near the big city of Beijing they almost got
conned some money), I seemed to sense, at least as the video was
presented, the rather relaxed though desperately poor Russian/Siberian
peasant as compared to the fearful but relatively noveau riche Chinese
peasant.

Etc.

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