’97 Three Rivers Film Festival opener opens again

If you have any interest at all in the Pittsburgh film scene, you stand to profit greatly by… If you have any interest at all in the Pittsburgh film scene, you stand to profit greatly by seeing “The Journey.”

The directorial debut of Pittsburgh resident Harish Saluja, “The Journey” opened the 1997 Three Rivers Film Festival and returns to Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Regent Square Theater for a one-week engagement through Thursday.

Roshan Seth, who you might have seen in “Gandhi” or “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” stars as Kishan Singh, a retired Indian schoolmaster, come to visit his son Raj (Antony Zaki), a Pittsburgh doctor. Almost immediately, conflict develops between Kishan and Laura (Carrie Preston), Raj’s American wife. As the two learn to live together, they learn a great deal about each other’s worlds. As do we, because Saluja affords us an opportunity not only to learn about Indian culture but also to view our own from the outside.

The film has often been compared to early Ang Lee and late Satyajit Ray – after whom Saluja’s production company, New Ray Films, is named – and for good reason. While there is nothing especially unique about the film’s basic “fish out of water” premise, the subtle, sensitive treatment of both the story and the characters is refreshing. The conflict, for instance, rests not on the ways that Kishan and Laura fail to get along but rather on the ways that they gradually succeed. The result is a touching, positive film.

What makes “The Journey” of particular local interest is the way in which cinematographer John Rice has shot the city of Pittsburgh. Landmarks such as Fallingwater are integrated into the plot, but without seeming contrived. Likewise, striking locations and beautiful, lingering long shots make even Oakland look like an appealing place to live. This is all done without exploiting or selling Pittsburgh as a location – not one of these shots feels extraneous.

There is a rather alarming local tendency, particularly here at Pitt, to celebrate any film with a Pittsburgh connection, regardless of how tenuous the connection or how terrible the film. “The Journey” is a good film, set in Pittsburgh, made by a local director and an almost entirely local cast. This is the kind of filmmaking we want to cultivate.

Lamentably, relatively few people have seen it. Hopefully, after this latest engagement, that condition will be somewhat alleviated and “The Journey” can enter the dialogue about the future of film in Pittsburgh, which is where it belongs. I won’t cry if we have to forget about “Dumb and Dumber” to make space in the conversation.

“The Journey” opened on Friday at Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Regent Square Theater and runs through Thursday, October 2. Go to www.pghfilmmakers.org for more information.