Pop & Me

When he was 11 years old, filmmaker Chris Roe went on a round the world trip with his mother, father, and two brothers. Decades later, his father Richard, 54, divorced, and anchorless, gets a jones on to once again circumnavigate the globe, and invites Chris (who discovers mid-trip that he was the third choice for a traveling companion) to accompany him to the Netherlands, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Istanbul, Israel, South Africa, India, Egypt, China, Australia, and so on. But rather than simply bore viewers with a father and son travel video, Pop hits on the idea of interviewing fathers and sons from all walks of life. The result is an endearing, genuinely moving portrait that will, as the blurbmeisters say, move you to laughter and tears. In between their own antics (controlling Pop gradually grates on indie son Chris's nerves), the duo interview subjects ranging from Julian Lennon (who agrees that his father was a musical genius, but points out that he was also a terrible dad) to an African-American stepfather and stepson (in describing his stepfather as his "real" father, both men break down; and, in fact, by asking fathers and sons to talk openly about their relationships, the Roes in essence provide the emotional space for these incredibly moving testimonies). I won't reveal the ending, but I will say this: you are unlikely to see a more dramatic example of father-son bonding than the Roes experience at the conclusion of their journey into the heart of paternal-filial relationships. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)