Sometimes, the journey is more important than the destination. Reaching the destination means simply getting there, but it’s during the journey where the real thoughts and poetry lie. This is also true for life. Tarkovsky once said, “If you look for a meaning, you will miss everything that happens.” Sebastián Brameshuber’s London is exactly that deep creation— one that makes us reflect on life, makes us think, and most importantly, something we can relate to.
We often have a fear or hesitation of being judged, which keeps us from sharing everything with even our close ones. But what happens when we find a medium or a person— someone we’ll never see again— through whom we get the chance to express many unsaid feelings? London is about that.
Watching Sebastian Brameshuber’s London is like staring out the window on a rainy day. The main character is Bobby Sommer, played by himself. Bobby is a calm, elderly man who regularly travels from Vienna to Salzburg. During his journey, he picks up several strangers who become his companions, and they engage in deep and meaningful conversations. These conversations are varied and sometimes we understand them deeply, sometimes not at all. Yet, we feel like they are part of our own journey because that’s how life works— full of variety.
Bobby is friendly yet lonely. He listens to the stories of these strangers, sometimes about daily life, and sometimes much deeper conversations. He listens attentively because when we’re not talking, we’re listening. When they open up to someone they might never see again, there’s a strange peace in that. It feels like the relief of opening a window in the summer heat.
Much like how we experience life through the eyes of people sitting together in a car in Abbas Kiarostami’s films, Brameshuber shows us this same beauty in London. He created a truly honest film, making us realize that with strong will, passion, and whatever resources are at hand, you can still make a beautiful film. The passengers we see in this movie are not professional actors, and each plays themselves.
The film has a slow pace, there’s no rush. When we stare at something, when we take time for something, that’s when we see its layers. The same goes for people. If we give them time and the necessary comfort, they’ll open up. For a brief moment, a strange trust is formed.
In the end, London is a collection of lives’ stories. In a time when we are growing increasingly distant from each other, losing the beauty of close relationships, Brameshuber gave us a meaningful film. It makes us reflect, teaching us to understand and think deeply about even the smallest aspects of life, like Bobby does. It heals many of our wounds. Life, after all, is not always about big events but about the accumulation of countless small moments.
