The Excursionist

The true story of an 11-year-old girl who escaped from a train that was deporting her and other Lithuanians to Siberia and, leaving her family behind, covered more than 6,000 kilometers to return home. To tell this classic tale, Audrius Juzėnas chose a form that was devoid of any sort of fireworks. He also made a bold artistic decision: to put the entire film on the shoulders of the young Anastasija Marčenkaitė. How did that work out? The most important Lithuanian film award for acting speaks for itself. Thanks to Marčenkaitė's committed performance, The Excursionist is not merely a quasi-war version of a road movie but is primarily a film about empowerment. Six thousand kilometers, the hundreds of people she meets, and the dozens of situations she finds herself in are, for the protagonist, a measure of something besides six additional years of her life. In front of our very eyes, we see little Maria change from a shy little girl into a tough young woman who is fully aware of her choices. Such transformations make cinema worthwhile.