Journey of Hope, the surprise winner of the Best Foreign Language Oscar, is a melodrama directed by Xavier Koller, who co-wrote the script with Feride Cicekoglu.
Inspired by facts, the tale describes the hardships of a family of Turkish farmers, an impoverished couple and their son, who sell all of their possessions in order to fund an escape to Switzerland, where they hope to have a better life—and find work.
On the road, they are disastrously captured by a group of smugglers, who take them to Switzerland through an illegal and dangerous mountain pass.
“Journey of Hope” was a poignant and timely film, dealing with Europe’s “guest workers” (as they were known. Inevitably, the film alluded to the problem of Mexican (and other) illegal immigrants in the U.S.
Grade: B
Oscar Nominations: 1
Best Foreign Language Picture
Oscar Awards:
Foreign Language
Oscar Context:
The other contenders in this category were all superior to the winner: “Cyrano De Bergerac” from France, “Ju Dou” from China, “Nasty Girl” from Germany, and “Open Door” from Italy.