Boring

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I can't say that watching this film was an altogether disagreeable experience. However, the plot (to the extent that it has one at least) doesn't hold up very well under critical scrutiny. On the one hand, the outlandishness, implausibility and excess of Conner's particular adventures remind me of a script I would have concocted at age 17. On the other hand, the adventure is lived with a consciousness of setting that I don't remember having until I was about 20, at which point I had almost or entirely outgrown my old naivety about how sequential events actually unfold.Let's start with the suspension of disbelief. In the 2000s, it is exceedingly rare to marry immediately out of high school, and even rarer to be so affluent that one can simply depart on an extended gap year with no strings attached. No explanation is offered or even hinted at. Conner's family is certainly "cool," but so "cool" and "prog" that they'll open the purse strings at his beck and call, with no quid pro quo? I don't think a guy raised by parents like that would be so cool, calm and self-confident at 18. In fact, I am sure he would NOT be, and would have a difficult time being anything but a spoiled rotten brat for the rest of his life. Yet the film offers no hint of irony or self-awareness regarding this improbable setup: the authors seem to have been determined to tell a story THIS WAY and either not thought or not cared about whether the elements fit together. It's frankly just a sloppy approach to narration. But if you can get past that initial roadblock, you'll find yourself reliving your wildest adventures and fantasies along with Conner, skipping (and sleeping) his way barefoot and fancy-free through Central America until he accepts, on a whim, a proposition to cross the Darién Gap into South America. If you know anything about this and have ever contemplated the full length of the Pan-American Highway you'll be eager for a glimpse into what such a crossing must be like. The film does not disappoint...... until it starts to turn to philosophizing. Depending on how you read it, 18-year-old Conner's thoughts on and co-opting of selective FARC (the narco-terrorist left-wing paramilitary that's been wrecking havoc through Colombia for decades) ideas are either every bit as eye-rolling and ridiculous as the commercialized "Che" t-shirts that litter Marxist-nostalgic hipster neighborhoods such as the East End in London and Bataclan in Paris, or a clever but improbable cynical subversion: improbable both that it would occur to a newly-minted suburbanite American man just now discovering international travel do to so, and that he would actually accomplish his ulterior ends in so doing. (Guerrilla fighters are not exactly known for reasonable negotiation, and it's more than a little aggravating to see yet another attempt to inject them nonchalantly as "moral romantics" into "mainstream" popular culture.)The ending, with the incoherent and melodramatic decision to make a sacrifice in order to pursue a dream, wasn't exactly improbable: 18-year-olds certainly can be melodramatic, but it wasn't consistent with what was suggested about the character's maturity earlier on. There was no hint anywhere in the film that the art of travel had to be read out in the way he decided to pursue it and not in the other way that was being offered as the "catch." So there we leave him to the rest of his adventure, ever so slightly annoyed at his self-imposed martyrdom and with the vague sense that, as far as he's come geographically, the film hasn't really taken us anywhere in particular. It's rather unsatisfying.On the other hand, perhaps that's a kind of statement about this sort of libertine carefree bonanza: as "fun" as it might be it really doesn't move one or one's life forward.Meh... nah, I think it's just sloppy writing. Although I will admit, you could do a lot worse. You could do a lot BETTER, too. But worse is more likely.

I'm reviewing this movie nearly 5 years after I saw it, so bear with me. "Why bother," you ask? Because 5 years later I'm still hard pressed to come up with a movie like it.A real gem, though not necessarily everyone's cup of tea, "The Art of Travel" will appeal to those of you wanderlusting souls who can enjoy adventures in the simple act of getting on a plane and going somewhere new. There are no car chases, bank heists or torrid love affairs with hot supermodels. But since when have any of you experienced any of that? (If you have, then why the heck are you watching movies like the rest of us schmoes??)Actually the story does contain some heavy action & suspense, possibly some good old Central American gunfire, but that's not intended to be the focus. On the contrary, life without hair-raising thrills can be every bit as adventurous and fun, and "The Art of Travel" shows us precisely that. I highly recommend it to young people who plan on traveling the world, as well as older folks who have never had the opportunity. This film awakens the adventurer in all of us. And don't get me wrong; it's certainly not boring. Like any good trip to a foreign land, every minute is packed with the unexpected. Hats off to the filmmakers for bringing the unique magic of travel into our living rooms.

I love travel, I love travel books and movies - this movie left me totally empty with disappointment at the end, which is significant, given that I was emotionally primed for acceptance. It simply fails on so many levels.I think it deserves 3 stars for cinematography, but that's about it - one would think that the project crew should have been encouraged to rise to the level of the cinematography, but no. The screen writing has little continuity or meaningful base, and the directing displays no maturity - One envisions a long series of one-take scenes! The viewer is expected to believe that a gang of inexperienced trekkers is going to be able to slice through some of the world's most impenetrable terrain without incident - and cut a road in the process! Please. And someone should have given the gang a quick lesson in how one 'holds' a machete, much less how to use it properly - additionally, if this film is actually shot on location, why didn't they make the jungle environment of The Darien look difficult? Most of the shots of jungle terrain look more like a Florida backyard than impenetrable jungle - stuff like this takes the pleasure of viewing away quickly.I note that a large number of reviewers here on IMDb saw this movie at one of the minor movie festivals in the U.S., and that their reviews are generally very favorable. I can only assume that these festivals -for the most part- show only minor independent films, among which films such as this compare very well - and surely the hype surrounding such a festival's best offerings must be significant! How else would you explain such generous praise for such a weak piece? This one deserves to be better - it's a shame it isn't.

This film was my favorite film I saw at the Phoenix Film Festival. It was perfectly balanced! The humor provided by Christopher Masterson and the other cast members perfectly contrasts some of the sad undertones of self discovery. It was absolutely hilarious to see Masterson playing such a gringo in such exotic places. Very easy to relate to! The audience feels a connection with not only the film, but with the goals of Conner. It seems almost like a midlife crisis come early, with many of those same hilarious urges. This movie does not even remotely resemble an average low budget film. It is extremely high quality and incredibly enjoyable. Anyone who has ever felt trapped in their life or the need for travel and adventure will immediately connect to this movie. I highly recommend it to everyone, excellent work!