The Slow Business of Going

Petra Going is a migrant cyborg who works for a global flavor of memory hustlers known as the Global Nomad Project. Her job is to wander through cities, beaches, and markets collecting little episodes of human life, conversations, and odd rituals, then file them away in a vast central archive. When her memory bags are full, she returns to headquarters to offload the experiences, which others can access as ready to inhabit stories and landscapes. The project treats nostalgia like a rentable resource, promising moments to be rented, swapped, or reexperienced at the click of a thought. The film leans into quirky humor and deadpan satire to examine tourism, identity, and data as souvenirs.

Released in 2000, this film is directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari. It originates from an original concept rather than an adaptation, with the screenplay credited to Daniel Aukin, Jim Davis, and Matthew Johnson.

Box office figures for this title are not widely reported, and there is no widely cited worldwide gross available in common databases. Release patterns were limited, reflecting a smaller festival circuit footprint rather than a wide commercial rollout.

While not a mainstream hit, the film's premise invites reflection on memory, tourism, and digital culture. Its satirical setup suggests a world where encounters are captured, packaged, and sold as data, turning travel into a curated commerce of moments and leaving room for playful, awkward humor.

Reception was mixed, underscoring the film’s offbeat humor and experimental approach. Viewers respond to its dry wit and its odd sense of wonder, while some critics find the pacing quirky and the ideas a touch abstract. The film screens a sly critique of the tourist gaze and commerce of memory, turning Petra Going’s assignments into commentary on how we collect experiences. At heart it asks what counts as authentic connection when nostalgia comes with a price tag.