Such a Long Journey

Director Sturla Gunnarsson
Year 1998
Run Time 113min
Genre Drama
Based on the award-winning novel by Canadian author Rohinton Mistry, Such a Long Journey is the story of Gustad Noble (Seth), whose life is thrown into turmoil when he is asked by an old friend to deposit a large sum of money at the bank where he works. Set in Bombay on the eve of the war between India and Pakistan, Gustad’s troubles become an allegory for the chaos and upheaval occurring around him.

His son would rather become an artist than attend engineering school, his daughter has malaria and his wife (Razdan) spends an increasing amount of time with a neighbour that he fears is a witch. On top of all this, the local government threatens to tear down the wall surrounding his housing complex. Ingeniously, Gustad asks an artist (Chowdhry) to paint a multi-faith mural on the wall so believers of all religions will be compelled to save it. A rich and thoughtful portrayal of the power of spirituality and how to overcome even the most daunting of circumstances.

Director

Sturla Gunnarsson

Born in Iceland and raised in Vancouver, Gunnarsson earned an Oscar nomination for his debut feature doc, After the Axe. His films include Beowulf and Grendel, Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie and Monsoon, and he has directed hit TV shows such as Motive, Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Art of More, and most recently Schitt’s Creek and Ransom.

Writer

Sooni Taraporevala

Cast

Roshan Seth, Soni Razdan, Ranjit Chowdhry, Om Puri, Kurush Deboo

Producers

Paul Stephens, Simon MacCorkindale

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Global Experiences, History, Literary Adaptation, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

Optimum Releasing