Janapar: Love On A Bike – Movie Review
Feb
Love can find you anywhere… even in Armenia.
That’s what British-born Tom Allen discovered during his three-and-half-year round-the-world bicycle touring attempt in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
A total newbie to the world of long-distance bicycle touring, 23-year-old Tom Allen pedaled away from his comfortable English lifestyle and set off into the unknown with two of his closest friends at his side. Along the way, Tom documented his travels by bike on a small personal video camera, recording more than 300 hours of footage during his time on the road.
As impressive as it sounds, Tom Allen’s self-supported bicycle ride across more than 32 different countries is not unique. There are hundreds of people who have cycled around the world and covered longer, more difficult stretches of road. But Tom’s journey is more than memorable in that after being abandoned by his travel companions, he met and fell in love with a charming and feisty young Iranian-Armenian woman named Tenny.
Like Ted Schredd in The Cycling Adventures of Coconut Head, who is forced to decide between staying with his current girlfriend or giving her up to pursue a new love, Tom is now forced to make an important decision. Should he stay in Armenia with his new-found love and abandon his dreams of bicycle touring around the world? Or should he continue his bike ride, knowing that the love that comes so rarely is sitting in Armenia waiting for him?
Stuck at the top of a steep mountain pass, Tom has to make a choice. Should be turn around and pedal back to the one he loves? Or should he just keep riding and live out his dreams of cycling around the world? Whatever decision he makes, there is sure to be some regret!
Janapar: Love on a Bike is the title of Tom Allen’s 110-minute movie about his bicycle tour around the world and the love he found along the way. The word “janapar” comes from the Armenian word for “journey” and is the perfect word to describe Tom Allen’s transformation from the inexperienced and headstrong, young boy we are introduced to at the beginning of the film… to the weathered, worldly and caring young man we discover at the film’s conclusion.
Janapar: Love on a Bike is not just a movie made for people who love bicycle touring, but is a story that anyone who has ever been in love, or has hoped to be in love, can relate to.
* * *
Stream the film online, download to your device, or order the DVD worldwide. Janapar: Love on a Bike is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and on iTunes.
To learn more about the movie, order a copy of the film and learn more about Tom Allen’s bicycle touring adventures, be sure to visit the official movie website at www.janapar.com
I loved the movie on both levels. An awesome travelog, and a beautiful love story. His photography was simple yet artistic.