Roadrunner
“Travel isn’t always pretty, you go away, you learn, you get scarred,
marked and changed in the process, it even breaks your heart.”
Why do I always end up watching films on aeroplanes that make me cry?
We both watched Roadrunner, A film About Anthony Bourdain on our flight from Rome. It’s a compelling documentary about a phenomenally talented man. And we all know how the story ends.
At one point in the documentary we see Bourdain sitting in the sand dunes, on the edge of Arabia’s Empty Quarter. We’ve done the same. Craving space and craving adventure.
The documentary presents Bourdain’s story, from his work as a chef, to his relationships, his travels, drug addiction and T.V career.
So much spoke to us watching the film. How could his programmes and his personality not resonate with us? Bourdain was about food, travel and living life. He cared about people, politics and communities. His passion for everything came across.
His adventures took him to parts of Asia and Africa, exactly how we’ve tried to live, minus T.V cameras. He had watched adventure tales as a child and that was where his world view had come from. Then he wanted to go out and see it all.
Settling for ordinary was not an option.
There’s a part in the film where he speaks to camera about the media and how it shapes people’s ideas
“We tend to see places in the Middle East and Africa in particular, we only see them when bad things happen. If you just follow the news you’ll be reminded about kidnapping in Algeria, unrest in Tunisia, terrorist cells to the south, deadly riots in Egypt and of course Islamist extremist attacks in Benghazi that killed the U.S ambassador. All those things are very real concerns, but if you only look at what’s on the news you can miss what maybe is a bigger picture.”
It’s something that we’ve tried so hard to communicate to others. That there is so much more. And yet many will try to make generalisations about life in developing countries.
And he spoke of “mediocre”. Oh my, how I could talk about that one. Nothing is ever mediocre in our life. Maybe that’s always been the goal, sub-consciously, to create an extraordinary life. Fortunately nothing in our life is average or mediocre; our experiences, the places we find ourselves. And our closest friends are far from mediocre too. They are vibrant, intelligent, outward looking people that we love.
Roadrunner showed that Bourdain had impacted on numerous people. He was loved by many. But he didn’t feel that love. How tragic.
I’ve never known anyone who killed themselves. I hope that I never do.
And after watching the film, I was left with such a sadness, of learning more about such a remarkable life lived, a life that was cut short. He calls himself the ugly American in the film. But he wasn’t ugly. He was such an engaging soul. A Storyteller. He probably spoke to many travellers who we know.
He’s described as a romantic. And what’s wrong with that? We need more romantics in our world.
Bourdain’s love for Vietnam came across clearly. He compared his love for Vietnam with a woman “who just feels and smells right”. That deep infatuation for a place, far away from our passport country, can catch us by surprise.
Which place in the world have you felt a special connection to?
By the end of the film everyone who was in his life was in tears. I was in tears watching. PKP was too. It’s just so bloody sad.
Bourdain was a brilliant reminder of the importance of being real. He nailed it. He was authentic. And his words remain…
“Travel isn’t always pretty, you go away, you learn, you get scarred,
marked and changed in the process it even breaks your heart.”
Every part of that is true for us. He could have taught us all more.
Roadrunner is about a man who made travel his life. It’s a film about experiences, really feeling a place and not simply being a tourist.
Go watch it. Or have you seen it?
What does travel mean to you?
© Maggie M / Mother City Time