Off the Map

This unusual travel series chronicles the journeys of women ages 22 to 85 as they travel to far flung, exotic lands. In the first of three programs I watched, Hope Beverstein, an 80-year-old Englishwoman now living in Canada, pursues her lifelong dream of visiting the lush rainforests of Papua New Guinea, where she navigates by dugout up the sacred Karawari River, visits an ancestral skull cave, and gets close-up views of the vanishing folk cultures of New Guinea. In Mali, Mari-France Landry, an inquisitive student-artist, visits the French-speaking African country, where she tours the colorful local markets, enjoys the sights along the river Niger, and sleeps on a rooftop under the stars. Finally, Karen Kendall, a thirtysomething computer analyst treks to the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union, where she climbs mountains and spends several days sharing a local family's hut. While the filmmakers try to communicate an inspirational tone in these diverting three episodes, they are too brief and specific to qualify as travelogues, making this a marginal purchase for either travel or women's studies collections. The 10 other episodes in the series include: Jordan, Yemen, Botswana, Morocco, Nepal, Ecuador and Galapagos. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)