The documentary depicts many vital elements focused on the interpersonal communication and relationship. In particular, he relationship between a father and a child could be characterized as a process of seeking the path not only to pilgrimage but also to souls of one another. Even though the son was reluctant in the beginning of the movie, the relationship between the two individuals changed significantly throughout the film. Ultimately, they become much closer to one another.
While looking into the details of the family relationship, father is much more religious than a son. His religious devotion comes from his Arabic origin where religion is valued much more in the secular France. The attitude towards religion marked a significant barrier in understanding the common things between a father and a son. While father prayed five times a day, it seemed strange to the son.
Certainly, throughout the movie Reda became much more educated on the religious matters. Not only did he learn the respect towards beliefs of his father, but he went through the process of rethinking the religion himself. His prior lack of understanding of pilgrimage could be explained by growing up in a different social and cultural environment.
An experience in Hajj was certainly new to Reda. He clearly sensed spiritual while being placed among thousands of people praising their religion. Most likely, he would share his experience with his friends of the similar background in France.
Quite often, a secular world places the limitations on preaching the religion. For instance, in some countries women are restricted to wearing hijab. Those who are religious become closed in their communities and share their holidays and traditions among themselves. In such circumstances, a Muslim identify is shaped in a different way due to social and cultural circumstances. Being a religious person becomes a pure individual choice while others are free to praise any other religion. Thus, those who are religious remain in a minority.
- The Great Journey (2004). (2017). IMDb. Retrieved 29 January 2017, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361670/
