Biyograficim
Journey of Hope

Journey of Hope

Movie · 1990 · 6 people

Umuda Yolculuk (Journey of Hope; German Reise der Hoffnung) is a 1990 drama by Swiss director Xavier Koller. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, given to Switzerland as a country and marking Swiss cinema's second Oscar. A co-production of companies in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Turkey, it shows the human cost of illegal emigration from Turkey through one family, and it returned to cinemas in a restored version in autumn 2016.

The story is built around an Alevi farming family from the Maraş region. Haydar Şener (Necmettin Çobanoğlu), Meryem (Nur Sürer) and their children sell nearly everything and, guided by people smugglers, try to reach Switzerland, which they know only from a postcard, by smuggled routes. Snowy Alpine passes, harsh winter conditions and ruthless smugglers make the road brutal, and it ends painfully when the family loses a child. The cast includes Emin Sivas (Mehmet Ali), Erdinç Akbaş (Adama), Yaman Okay (Türkmen) and Yaman Tarcan (İlyas), with Swiss actors Mathias Gnädinger (truck driver Ramser) and Dietmar Schönherr (Massimo).

Koller wrote the script with Feride Çiçekoğlu. Peter-Christian Fueter, Turgay Aksoy and Alfi Sinniger produced, and Elemer Ragalyi shot it. Besides Turkish, French and English are spoken.

DirectorXavier Koller
Journey of Hope Journey of Hope Journey of Hope

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Erdal Merdan Erdal Merdan Film actor · died at 60 Nur Sürer Nur Sürer Actor · 72 years old Meryem Yaman Okay Yaman Okay Actor · died at 41 Türkmen Necmettin Çobanoğlu Necmettin Çobanoğlu Actor · 73 years old Haydar Sener Yaman Tarcan Actor · 1959 – 2009 İlyas Selahattin Fırat Selahattin Fırat Film actor · died at 88

Also in the cast: Emin Sivas, Erdinç Akbaş, Dietmar Schönherr, Mathias Gnädinger (Truckdriver Ramser)

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Umuda Yolculuk tells the human cost of illegal emigration from Turkey through the journey of an Alevi farming family from the Maraş region. The family selling nearly everything to set out for Switzerland, a country they know only from a postcard, shows how migration often begins with a dream rather than knowledge. Ruthless people smugglers and the harsh winter of the Alpine passes are reminders of how fragile that dream is. As a British, Swiss and Turkish co-production, it can look at the story through the eyes of both the country left and the country sought. The film stands as a document that keeps the individual face in view in debates on migration.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Written by Xavier Koller with Feride Çiçekoğlu, Umuda Yolculuk avoids melodrama's easy routes and opts for a spare, almost documentary realism. Elemer Ragalyi's photography conveys the indifferent weight of nature in the snowy Alpine passes and makes you feel how small the family is within the frame. Nur Sürer and Necmettin Çobanoğlu carry the film's emotional load with restrained, inward performances. The mix of Turkish, French and English makes foreignness audible at the level of language. The first stretch of the journey moves slowly at times, and some secondary characters remain mere functions; but this winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film leaves a strong mark through its sober bearing.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humor and heart.

Umuda Yolculuk is a very worthwhile but very heavy film. A family sells everything they own to try to reach Switzerland by smuggled routes in search of a better life. The road is hard, the smugglers are ruthless and the story goes somewhere painful. It is not suitable for young children; it could upset them a lot. It can be watched with teenagers and followed by a talk about migration. For adults it is an unforgettable experience.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments