In The Road to Patagonia, we follow Matty Hannon on an incredible solo adventure, to surf the west coast of the Americas by motorbike, from the top of Alaska to the tip of Patagonia. But deep in the wilderness – alone with the wolves and the bears – the journey’s plans unexpectedly fall to pieces. After losing everything, and on the cusp of quitting he meets the girl of his dreams, a permaculture farmer named Heather. Shot over 16 years, the result is an adventurous expose on the more-than-human-world, offering a physical and spiritual odyssey to better understand our place in Nature.

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As a whimsical and awe striking tale of adventure, The Road to Patagonia has no recent documentary comparison. The varied natural vistas and variety of animals and birds that Matty Hannon has managed to capture here will make your mouth literally drop open. It’s as if Hannon has taken the very best of nature photography and let us sit with and soak it in for a while. It is truly awe inspiring stuff that will awaken the adventurer inside. 

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The story itself, from Matty living alongside a remote tribe in Sumatra to his adventure deep into the barren cold of the Andes, is riveting; completely engrossing you into its tale from the very first frame. Added into the mix is the blossoming romance with Heather, with all the innocent fumbling of the beginning of a romance to the strain and pressure that comes with spending so much time together in close proximity. The soundtrack is one of the best of 2024 too. 

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The Road to Patagonia has a lot of powerful things to say around colonization and with it the elimination of people’s culture, a lot of which were based around nature. What adds extra punch to Hannon’s thoughts on this is that we are experiencing his revelations on these subjects almost in real time, which gives it a heck of a lot more weight. Hannon comparing empirical knowledge versus knowledge based purely in the natural world was one of the most poignant thematic points of the film. 

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However, where I struggled with The Road to Patagonia philosophically was in Hannon’s musings on nature and humans' relationship with it. We all know that we need to reduce our carbon footprint and use less resources. But Hannon’s only real implicit solution appeared to be to abandon the ‘system’ and live outside it. The real question is how do we reform the system, from the inside out, so we can live with nature, not against it. This would allow everyone to live a more centered, nature enhancing life, and not just the privileged few. 

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A breathtaking adventure, The Road to Patagonia is an intriguing tale of a search for meaning and purpose in the most stunning natural landscapes.