Impossible Roads

Far from the postcard image, Jamaica is a mountainous region covered with thick tropical vegetation; in the region of the Blue Mountains, the passes exceed 2000 meters in altitude; only the intrepid dare to venture there.

In the Bolivian Andes, at the risk of their lives, two women travel some of the most dangerous roads in the country. Maria brings supplies to an isolated village and Lourdes ventures to help the women gold diggers.

During the rainy season in Brazil, Luis and Léandro are the only ones to embark on the National 319 which connects Humaita to Manaus by crossing the Amazon. At this time, entire sections of road can disappear under water. In Namibia, on the desert roads of the northwest of the country, women from the Himba and Herero tribes go to a funeral crammed into the back of an old pick-up. In the Indian Himalayas, bus drivers skim over precipices playing tightrope walkers over passes at 4,000 meters in altitude.

The real lives of the people of Botswana is far from the usual picture postcard image. Chaidi, Monty, Mareko, Sekere live in the heart of a country that is nothing but one vast desert: Botswana. Everybody struggles to keep their job and support their family, but in the all-prevailing fine sand it’s impossible to move around without a 4-wheel drive. And with tens of thousands of wild animals on the roam such as lions and elephants breaking down is not a reassuring prospect.

From the abyssal ruts of Madagascar during cyclone season, to the nearly impassable snow walls of Siberia, to the waters of the devious Congo River, the cameras of "Routes de l'impossible" have accompanied drivers in their senseless fights to try to move forward. On these tracks or on this river, each kilometer is torn off at the cost of superhuman efforts. All show admirable courage and patience. Yet even the most seasoned crack, faced with trips to hell.

In Mauritania, the Harmattan blows. A dry, dusty wind that sweeps across the desert regions until it bury crops and villages; Sid Ahmed and Mohamed supply these landlocked areas; they are among the only ones to venture there.

Cocoa producers are in despair. “Getting the product out of the forest is a major problem. You leave here in the morning, but you don’t know if you’ll get there by night.” Yakou is one of the last drivers willing to supply the most remote villages. There’s only 45 kilometres to travel and it takes him between 8 and 10 hours to get there! The journey is so demanding that his son, who helps him during the vacations, doesn’t want to inherit the family’s one item of wealth: the truck.

The Nordeste region in Brazil has become an oven: it is up to 47 degrees in the shade and 70 degrees in the sun; sand and dust engulf entire lands; for truckers, the sand turns into a deadly trap.

In the Andes, to go from one mountain to another, the fastest way is often by air, suspended on cables of more than 100 meters. The peasants must defy their fear: the speed, like the height, is dizzying.