The Impossible Voyage (Short)
In “The Impossible Voyage,” a team of community leaders and researchers are marshaling all of their resources, and all possible modes of transportation, to go on a journey. We see them first board a train, and arrive at their destination in the mountains. They then continue their voyage on what appears to be an early bus-type vehicle, which goes on a runaway trip over hills before it crashes, leaving the passengers stranded. After they are healed at a local hospital, they board the train again, which goes up a large mountains, and continues, flying in the sky above.
Beyond that, you’re just going to have to watch the film for yourself, as filmmaker Georges Méliès’s has too many wondrous images and surprises in store to ruin in words. While the Martin Scorsese film, “Hugo,” gives us some idea of the tricks and techniques Georges Méliès used in making his 500 films, there’s still a lot that feels mysterious, beautifully so, to this moviewatcher, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. All that really is important to know about not just this film but Georges Méliès in general is that his films, whether it’s a four-minute experiment like “The Mermaid,” or a 20-minute narrative film like “Impossible Voyage,” shine through with a sublime sense of fun and imagination that makes them an unquestioned joy to watch. My suggestion is to watch them sans the narration the current DVD versions include, and put on some music that lifts up your soul, and just let the images wash over you. I used Howard Shore’s score for “Hugo,” and like it did in that film, it fit Georges Méliès’s original films beautifully.
