Gabriel's
Trip
Commandment XII : One
shall
care for new beginnings.
Gabriel’s Trip is Bashar Shbib’s third film dealing with the quirky
life of the middle aged Indie filmmaker Gabriel Young. In the first film
of the trilogy (Hot Sauce) Gabriel, (Bashar Shbib) deals with his amnesia;
in the second (The Kiss) it’s his paranoia that causes anxiety; and in
this film it’s his newly diagnosed schizophrenia. Searching for new
beginnings, Gabriel takes a trip to his native Egypt only to come back to
Quebec even more confused about his identity and purpose in life.
Gabriel’s Trip is a film about one man’s search for identity in a
complex world. This gyno biography has no beginning, no middle, no end. It’s
a story about the poetics of relationships, overlapping lives and
intertwining histories.
Gabriel (Bashar Shbib) lives his life on the edge, the periphery in direct oppostion to a rooted identity that most of us seek. The symbolic life in Egypt becomes a part of the external and the internal conflicts in Gabe’s identity. It’s an inter-woven tale incorporating Gabe’s home life, the lives of his three children and his friend, Siobhan, (Kim Prangley) a psychoanalyst who is visiting Gabe after his return from Egypt.
The story begins when Gabe finds out that a young friend (Dustin Ruck) has recently been diagnosed as HIV positive. They mourn together. A short time later Gabe heads to the Middle East where he is immersed in the culture of his heritage and he ponders the true meaning of life and identity. He undergoes some sort of personal crisis and upon returning Siobhan, finds him a different person and diagnoses schizophrenia. She suggests gathering Gabe’s family around to make the proper choice for treatment. Gabe is resistant and eventually consults a psychic instead of « clear » him of any unwanted entities. The exorcism doesn’t work and Gabe’s children (Maïa Nadon-Chbib, Tadzeo Chbib, and Camille Chbib) and mother (Karina Chadwick) come for a visit. It is eventually through their love and support that all is well in the end, and Gabe resumes his « normal » lifestyle once again.
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