Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
These children live in the four corners of the earth, but share the same thirst for learning. They understand that only education will allow them a better future and that is why, every day, they must set out on the long and perilous journey that will lead them to knowledge. Jackson and his younger sister from Kenya walk 15 kilometres each way through a savannah populated by wild animals; Carlito rides more than 18 kilometres twice a day with his younger sister, across the plains of Argentina; Zahira lives in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains who has an exhausting 22 kilometres walk along punishing mountain paths before she reaches her boarding school; Samuel from India sits in a clumsy DIY wheelchair and the 4 kilometres journey is an ordeal each day, as his two younger brothers have to push him all the way to school…
On the Way to School is a warm, earnest documentary following four children across different continents on their arduous daily journeys to school. The structure is straightforward and the premise, while emotionally resonant, follows a well-worn template of inspirational poverty-and-perseverance docs — multiple children, parallel stories, uplifting conclusion — that limits its novelty. Cinematography is competent and occasionally striking given the diverse landscapes (Moroccan mountains, Kenyan savannah, Argentine plains), but it rarely transcends functional coverage. There is no traditional 'acting,' though the children are natural and appealing on camera. The ending is tidily redemptive without being particularly surprising. It works well as accessible social documentary, especially for younger audiences, but does not push the form in any meaningful way.