Assembled from 16 years of footage, Matty Hannon’s feature debut embraces the possibility of the open road with full-hearted passion. His diaristic film documents his travels with the centrepiece being an astonishing journey from Alaska to Patagonia – first on motorbike, then on horse. Hannon’s zest for adventure first began as an undergraduate in ecology, when an encounter with a book on shamans in Indonesia urged him to move beyond the ivory tower of academia. He soon found himself in the Mentawai islands, living among the Salakirrat clan for five years; here, the Indigenous tribe see their surrounding environment as a living entity with inner spirits and souls.
As Hannon embarked on his years-long trip through the Americas, he brought this same sense of attention to the landscape, as it shifts from snow-capped mountain ranges to arid desert roads and stunning ocean waves. The cinematography glows with golden hues that bring to mind the bohemian spirit of 1970s counterculture films, an aesthetic accentuated by Daniel Norgren’s folksy soundtrack. Driven by an awe for natural beauty, the documentary also reveals its fragility, as new development in Chile and elsewhere threatens to drain rivers and wipe out whole forests.
When it comes to synthesising his experiences into social commentary, however, Hannon’s narration betrays certain levels of naivety. In emphasising the importance of sustainability, he often reinforces superficial binary oppositions about eastern and western ways of life. In reality, issues such as consumerism, environmental extraction and rapid industrialisation have always existed on a global scale. In contrast to Hannon’s musings, interviews with local figures provide valuable insights, which rescue the film from being politically and intellectually adrift.
• The Road to Patagonia is on the Icon film channel from 30 May, and in UK cinemas from 27 June.
