I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You

I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You gives an insight into the mindset of a geologist, who juggles the gushing flow of personal thoughts, with the demands of his latest assignment. Jose Renato, 35 years of age, and a geologist by profession, is headed towards Sertao.

It’s an arid region in Brazil marked by stunted flora and fauna. Jose’s task is to look for possible ways to channelize the water of the region’s river, and thus improve the lives of people inhabiting the area. Jose goes about completing the project with a lot of gusto, but gets bogged down when the thoughts of his own personal life start bothering him in this far-off place. He has a few bitter memories of his past, the uppermost being the separation from his wife.

Perhaps he didn’t want that relationship to end, and now as he stands amidst the arid landscape, he feels that his life has also become barren in a similar way. As his field work reaches its culmination and his hard work starts bearing fruit, a sense of emptiness begins to dominate his senses. His efforts would change the life of the community, but he himself seems to be suffering from a sense of loss. For Jose, it’s not just a field work or a project, it’s an occasion to introspect over his life and analyze what went wrong, or ponder over whether it could have been averted.