The Art of Travel DVD Review

Atop a pile of "to-dos" on my office desk sits a DVD, "The Art of Travel." On its cover, which looks a bit uninteresting, a couple are embraced, mid-kiss, on a grassy ledge that I can only assume is Machu Picchu.

Last fall, I was sent a review copy of the DVD, starring Christopher Masterson and Brooke Burns and Johnny Messner, directed by Thomas Whelan. Because, in part, of the uninteresting cover, it's sat idle for a few months. But this weekend, after returning from a business trip and in need of a cool glass of wine, it seemed the perfect evening filler.

Now, to start, I'm by no means a film critic. So what follows is nothing more than my humble opinion, one traveler to another. The movie, despite the fact that it's suspectingly cliche, is a smart tale that wraps around the life of a young man whose thrown into travel when so many of us are--not knowing where else to go or what else to do.

In South America, just prior to his expected start of college, he teams up with a wayward but determined group whose plan is to cross Panama's Darien Gap, a 100-mile pathless stretch that's given way to fewer people than Mount Everest's summit. They expect it to take just over a year.

Without spoiling the guts of the film, it's a rugged look at human life far, far outside of its comfort zone. Like so many travels, it is a raw and realistic story, woven with laughter and tears and most importantly, realization of one's self.

Bottom line? If you're in a travel slump--due to lack of inspiration or lack of funds--this will move you beyond it.

Rated: R
Length: 101 minutes

You can pick it up at Amazon here for $22.49.