MovieChat Forums > World Traveler (2002) Discussion > THAT WHOLE THING AT THE AIRPORT AT THE B...

THAT WHOLE THING AT THE AIRPORT AT THE BEGINNING?

posted 21 years ago by u_and_whose_army
6 replies | jump to latest

what was that about? i liked this movie but was confused by the opening. maybe i just need to watch it again.

[–] CozyRose 21 years ago

I too have no idea what that scene was about. He seems to walk off the plane towards his wife and son and then is quickly put in handcuffs and led away. I hope someone out there can be of help.

[–] John_Mars 20 years ago

I think it has something to do with the whole of the movie, which is his journey to his father. In the DVD commentary, it was revealed that in his dream sequences, his dad was all there. In the beach dream sequence, his dad was the guy in the sunglasses, in the beginning, it was the guard that took him away, and in the airport where he talked with his former classmate, it was the guard at the end of the scene.

And so, he was always troubled by the fact that his dad walked out on him, and he wanted answers.

It was shocking that Julianne Moore's character is crazy! Didnt see that coming!

I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request. Means "no."

[–] chromer-1 20 years ago

hmm yeah the airport scene was part of a dream sequenced, he has a fair few of them, the only reason i watched the film was because clint mansell did the soundtrack, wasn't a bad film really well shot, but the story line kind of crumbled.

[–] sugar31107 20 years ago

I was just as confused by that scene. In fact, I still am. I didn't care for this movie all that much, the only reason I watched it in the first place was Julianne Moore though. I feel they left a lot of unresolved issues. And I didn't like the leads character at all. Essentially he abandoned everyone he met in his life.

[–] hydra1960 19 years ago

The opening scene serves two purposes. Firstly, as you do not know its a dream sequence you wonder why this happy looking traveler is being arrested and what did he do the woman and child standing near the plane. Its a hook to get you interested.
Secondly its a metaphor for the entire situation Crudups character is in. His dad (the arresting officer) has handcuffed him emotionally and mentally through his abandonement of his son. Which in turn has caused the main character to inflict incredible pain on his current wife and child. Which you can see on their faces.
The stickers on his suitcase show that he has been on one hell of a journey as does the airplane, the smile on his face shows that he will returned satisfied with his journey but to face an uncertain result..Just like the movie the opening scene is loaded with emotion and information if you know where to look

[–] bettinay-1 19 years ago

Maybe the handcuffs are a symbol of how constricting his current worldview of his family life is. This is probably the catalyst for his sudden departure and self discovery.The final scene where Cal flies across the coast and backward on his journey is a motif that compares and contrasts the opening scene of handcuffs. Now he is free of those shackles. Sometimes you really have to go way back to go forward.