a truly uplifting film despite death

Rating: 8/10 (1 April 2008)

An uplifting experience. one feels as if one is travelling with the main character on what is his extreme gap year. the premise of watching one person alone with minimal dialogue doesn't bode well but the main actor is so engaging that you feel his emotions in every scene of the film. the film is a triumph of acting and the sure guides of Sean Penn as its director and is ultimately an extremely enjoyable experience.
One criticism could be the characters religious evocation but despite this it is still a wonderful film and a great shame that films such as this do not receive wider circulation and instead we are inundated with pap and dross from the Hollywood machine.