A Passage to Ottawa

It was a pleasure watching this charming and heartwarming film. I went to see it without really knowing anything about it and found myself falling in love with the movie from the very beginning. It has such a simple yet emotionally satisfying premise - a young boy searching for a hero to save his dying mother. The young actor made all the difference. Besides his personal charisma and cuteness he also happens to be a real natural, effortlessly performing in from of a camera. This goes for the rest of the cast too. It's just amazing how such a small film with unknown cast and crew can create such a beautiful movie.

A gem of a film!

A seven-year-old boy, Omi is sent from India to live with an Uncle in Ottawa. Nobody is told that his mother is dying. The teenage daughter of the family, Safia is given the task of watching over Omi. On one of their outings, Amy meets a black man, Roland, who is a tour guide in his thirties, and they become romantically involved. Omi is convinced that Roland is a superhero, who will save his mother and bring her to Ottawa, so he assists with their clandestine meetings.

The acting is in the low-key, naturalistic, Canadian style, which keeps a very light mood to the drama. The characters are interesting and endearing but are not fully developed. The film is quite enjoyable but not memorable.

A rarity among independent films, Passage To Ottawa is a family drama, suitable for kids and engaging enough to keep adults interested. Omi (Nabil Mehta) is a seven-year old East Indian boy sent to live with relatives in Ottawa when his mother falls ill. He believes he is on a quest to find a super-hero who will save his mother. Roland, (Jim Codrington) the captain of a local tour boat seems to fit the bill. The two form an emotional connection, as Roland begins a romance with Safia, (Amy Sobol) Omi's lively cousin. Nice naturalistic performances from a mixed cast of amateurs and professionals coupled with sure handed direction from India-born, Russian trained, Canadian resident Gaurav Seth add up to a sweet family movie, that champions the virtues of multi-culturalism. Recommended.

"Passage to Ottawa" has appealing moments and some touching scenes which are effective, but ultimately the film is not compelling enough to warrant a recommendation. Characters seem real and well acted and dialog is mostly believable. But the plot itself is only mildly interesting and the pace is a little slow at times.

I went to the movie because of my familiarity with its improbable setting in very banal city of Ottawa. On one hand, I was sort of pleased at the number of local references and that the movie succeeded in presenting an honest portrayal of the city's (lack of) character. On the other hand, perhaps this setting in the world's center of boredom dragged the film down and a more interesting location could have provided impetus for diverting action.

As you may notice, I'm writing this short review from Ottawa, Canada's Capital. Unlike New York, London or Toronto, it's not often that my home town has a starring role in a movie, so that was perhaps my main attraction to this film.

The story and quality of acting is at "The Game Has Been Rained Out, So Here's a Movie" level. Everything is competent, but not exceptional. The story-line moves along well enough, until near the end where I found it began to take some leaps in logic.

The story deals with a young boy trying to understand his mother's illness, and look for ways to save her, by finding a superhero to bring home to make her well again. The unlikely superhero is the unlikely captain of a tourist cruise boat, who falls in love with the young boys cousin. It deals with issues of race and culture and family.

Without my bias in favour of Ottawa, I'd give this movie a 5.5 out of 10 stars, but if you want to see some awesome scenery, Ottawa can't be beat.