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A Ride to Eternity
A film by Hugo Sentinelli
Logline
A mother transcends time and space to rewrite the day her daughter was kidnapped and lost forever, embarking on a cosmic journey in their car where love and sacrifice defy reality. Until an unexpected truth changes everything.
Synopsis
After losing her young daughter Lily to a kidnapping inside her own car, Angeline lived the rest of her life in grief and guilt until the day she also died, transcending to a dimension beyond time and space. There, she proposed that innocent children should not suffer before dying, as her daughter did.
In our story, we witness Angeline traveling back in time to the day of Lily's abduction, taking control of the car moments before her daughter awakens in the presence of her kidnapper. Thus, in a surreal journey, the vehicle defies gravity, lifting above the Earth and heading towards the far reaches of the universe.
A surprising outcome unfolds as Lily rapidly ages into adulthood within seconds due to the speed of light. Now an adult, she begins to question her mother's decisions, setting the stage for a thought-provoking exploration of choices and consequences.
Characters
Angeline
A resilient and determined woman, driven by an unshakable love for her daughter. Despite carrying deep sorrow, she maintains a strong sense
of purpose and an inner strength that pushes her to defy any limits. Practical and fiercely protective, Angeline makes decisions with conviction but also struggles with the emotional weight of her choices.
Lily
A curious and imaginative child with a vibrant spirit and a keen sense of awareness. Even at a young age, she is perceptive and thoughtful,
noticing more than the adults around her realize. As she matures, her inquisitive nature grows stronger, leading her to challenge what is imposed upon her and seek deeper understanding of the choices made by those who love her.
Tone & Mood References
Writer Statement
Hugo Sentinelli
I tell stories that explore the fragility and finiteness of life with hope and sensibility, emphasizing the essential importance of relationships.
From an early age, I developed a penchant for transcendent thinking and a passion for science, especially stories about the universe. This led me to contemplate the idea that if we reside within the fabric of space-time here, perhaps "out there" is timeless, where the past and future exist simultaneously.
This narrative serves as a creative exercise in illustrating how even the most profound pain can be healed — an exploration grounded in the belief that if there is something beyond life, it should, at the very least, be better.
Proof of Concept
Previous Related Works
by Hugo Sentinelli
Film References
Script
A Note from the Writer
Hugo Sentinelli
Have you ever wondered why we usually don't remember the day of our birth? An interesting idea is that it might have been such an intense and even traumatic experience that a newborn could barely process. It's fascinating to note how the experience can be extremely different between two individuals who are so close. This is because what might have been the happiest moment for our parents could also have been quite terrifying for a fetus: leaving the safe and cozy environment of our mother's womb for the outside world - cold, noisy, and hostile.
That's why we often find comfort in snug places with a constant hum, like a heated home while it's raining outside, or in the seat of a plane with the engines running, or even during a closed car ride with the muffled roar of the engine. Somehow, our senses remind us of the time when we were a fetus in our mother's womb.
Remember the feeling of being a child in the back seat of a car, driven by your parents, uncles, or grandparents? Someone you trust and love taking you to a destination you don't always care to know. You don't even have to look forward through the windshield; you simply enjoy the journey through the side window. It's not uncommon to drift off to sleep.
And perhaps, this is the essence of life itself: We are all on a journey to a destination we don't fully understand. And who is driving? Is trustworthy? Chance? God? A higher power, the whims of chance? And just as the day of birth marked our entry into this world, the day of our departure may also be shrouded in pain or trauma. As we transition to an unknown reality, a reality that we are still unable to fully conceive.
And that's what "A Ride to Eternity" is all about.
An innocent child, on the verge of facing the most harrowing experience of her life, is rescued in time from being present during that moment by an angel in the form of mother. An angel who challenge reality by lifting their car above earth. Taking off from the highway and gliding above the city, much like a helicopter ride. It continues to ascend beyond continents, eventually reaching above the Earth, into outer space and beyond, turning what would have been a terrible passage for an innocent soul into something magical and beautiful.
Research
In our pursuit of developing authentic and empathetic dialogues, we conducted thought-provoking discussions with mothers of young daughters, presenting them with a set of unique and profound questions. Below, we present some of the enlightening responses we gathered:
1. Imagine that you could travel to the future and spend a day with your adult daughter. In an instant you already know everything that happened: what she graduated from, who she married, etc… Everything is beautiful and blessed. How do you think this meeting would go? What do you think you would say to her, and she to you?
ANSWER: Certainly, first, I'd probably get all teary-eyed with emotion and pride, just gushing about how beautiful she looks, how she's grown so beautifully, what an amazing woman she's become. I'd be thinking about all the cool things she's achieved. And then, I guess I'd want to have a chat, you know, to find out more about how she got to this point, how life's been treating her, if she ever went through any tough times, and if I was a good support when she needed it... I guess that's it.
2. Imagine that in a single day you could see all of your daughter's growth: before your eyes she learns to walk, talk, develops critical thinking, becomes a mature woman. What do you think you would say to her that day at each stage?
ANSWER: I think I'd be overwhelmed by the swift passage of time. As a mother, you want to savor every phase, even if it's challenging; it's a duality that accompanies us. We want our children to grow up and become independent, but at the same time, we want to take care of them forever, like they're still little and always needing our help.
I guess I'd tell her not to rush through life and to approach decisions with gentleness, achieving things by respecting each stage. Life is full of wisdom to teach us, but we need to be attentive to subtleties, to the simple, tiny things... that's where the great lessons are.
I think I'd reflect on something like that, about time, its fleeting nature, and patience.
3. If one day you needed to save your daughter from great suffering, taking her far away... What would you say to her that day?
ANSWER: I'd tell her that life isn't always how we'd like it to be, and sometimes we face things we won't be able to understand the reason for, but everything happens for a greater purpose, and we can learn from it all. I'd tell her to stay calm because her mom is always there for her, whenever she needs, and that together, things can be easier. I even got a little teary-eyed.
4. Imagine that 3,000 years from now, you and your daughter are adults living in eternity (regardless of your beliefs about what that might entail). She's no longer your little girl; she's become a woman, just as mature as you. What an interesting conversation you'd have over breakfast before a stroll along the shores of distant galaxies?
ANSWER: I think we would reflect on how much we've grown, whether we've achieved our goals, whether we are at peace, and have the clear conscience of having been good to ourselves, to our loved ones, and to our surroundings. I believe we would hold hands, exchange glances, and try to understand each other as two souls who walked together for a long time but can now finally rest together.
