The long family road trip is the birth right and duty of most Australians over summer... A bit of anticipation, a lot of scenery and hours and hours to fill. But what do British families talk about on the road? In this film cameras are set up in cars as four families take to the road on journeys that are momentous and trivial, touching and funny. In the process, we see the preoccupations and secrets of the British family.
Kerry Lewis and his three young sons are driving to the Isle of Wight. They are en route to Compton Bay where they are going to scatter the ashes of the boys' mother one year after she died of cancer, at a place which is rich in family holiday memories. On the road they talk about life and death, about how and why the boys' parents separated, and about how they came back together in the final stages of her illness. And they prepare themselves for the ceremony that will be one of the most important stages in their grieving process.
Elsewhere, the Hennessey family take their silent-movie obsessed son on a pilgrimage to the Stan Laurel museum in Cumbria for his sixteenth birthday; Ian Craig and his sister, Alison find themselves in middle age making regular trips to the Leeds prison visitor centre together; and there is a revelation in store from 57-year-old Peter and his wife Evelyn, who spent the early years of their married life committed to not ever having children...
This film shines the light on all matters of the heart and mind straight from the back seat.
PRODUCTION DETAILS:
Part of the award-winning Wonderland 2010/11 documentary series for BBC Two Producer and Director: Zara Hayes (Where is Modern Art Now? The Seven Ages of Love) Executive Producer: Nick Mirsky (Louis Theroux: Behind Bars, America's Medicated Kids, Law & Disorder) |
