| In The Footsteps of Marco Polo | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Denis Belliveau Francis O’Donnell |
| Written by | Denis Belliveau Francis O’Donnell Tom Casciato |
| Produced by | Lisa Taylor Tom Casciato Josh Nathan Stephen Segaller Emir Lewis |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | PBS |
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
In the Footsteps of Marco Polo is a 2008 PBS documentary film detailing Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell's 1993 retracing of Marco Polo's journey from Venice to Anatolia, Persia, India and China.[1][2] The movie documents the first quest "to visit and document every region Marco Polo claimed to have traveled" using only land and sea methods of transportation.[3] Mike Hale of The New York Times writes that the documentary includes how Belliveau and O'Donnell "encountered Mongol horsemen and hostile Chinese security officers and survived a firefight between Afghan factions. In the spirit of Polo's journey -- and to prove a point regarding the authenticity of his account -- they disdained airplanes, traveling by foot, on horses and camels and by jeep, boat and train."[4] A text by the same name as the video, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo, written by Belliveau and O'Donnell, and published by Rowman & Littlefield, serves as a companion to the documentary film.[5] In the Footsteps of Marco Polo has been used by Belliveau to create a unique interdisciplinary educational curriculum that he presents at schools and libraries across the United States and internationally.[6]
It's not quite clear why Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell have taken more than a decade to turn the coolest vacation idea ever into a film, but the passage of time only adds to the allure of "In the Footsteps of Marco Polo," the tale being broadcast on Sunday on WLIW.
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In Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell's new travelogue/photographic essay, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo, we are given stunning proof of Marco Polo's essential veracity, for the geographic realities and ethnographic facts overwhelm any doubt.
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Equal parts travelogue, adventure story, history trek and buddy movie, the program chronicles the highs and lows of their quest to be the first to visit and document every region Marco Polo claimed to have traveled using only the same transportation available to their hero.
The two retraced Polo's winding route from Venice across the Silk Road to China and back via the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean; they encountered Mongol horsemen and hostile Chinese security officers and survived a firefight between Afghan factions.
Adventure, accuracy, personality, significance: these are the prime qualities of Marco's story, which is why he deserves his fame, why I wrote about him, why Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell trailed him ("In the Footsteps of Marco Polo," Rowman and Littlefield) and why Netflix backed John Fusco's 10-part drama that airs Dec. 12.
They survived a deadly firefight in Afghanistan, crossed the desert in a camel caravan, and mingled with native Mongolians and tattooed tribes in India. Part travelogue, part history trek, the trip inspired the book and movie "In the Footsteps of Marco Polo." The 90-minute PBS documentary was nominated for an Emmy and has been used as the basis for a unique curriculum. Since the film's first airing, Belliveau has been invited into hundreds of schools across the country to share his adventures first hand. He now presents a mix of assemblies, classroom visits and explorer in residence programs built around his extraordinary two-year adventure.