John Dower delivers a fascinating and occasionally tense documentary that follows the journey of Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones as they circumnavigate the globe in a hot-air balloon. Never before accomplished the pair take the Orbiter 3, leaving behind their wives and loved ones for a trip they may not come back from.

As other groups make the attempt, and fail, the pair face trials of weather, instrument failure, and more as they travel the globe. Surfing the jet streams, avoiding thunder storms and seeing the world in a whole new perspective, the Orbiter 3 takes the viewer around the world.

Dower through his objective eye delivers a film that is a testimony to the human spirit and the adventure of aviation.

But it’s not all about the journey. We also check in with those waiting at Orbiter’s ground control, the meteorologist who guides them, and Jo Jones, Brian’s wife, who puts on the brave, British front, even as she worries for her husband’s safety.

It’s adventurous, it testifies to the drive of the explorer, the adventurer, the heart of humanity as we set goal for ourselves to push ourselves further. To be more, to be better, to achieve.

The Balloonists is an inspiring film, an eye-opening doc… two men, a balloon, and the world laid out before them. Could there be a more amazing way to see our shining blue globe (I mean besides from orbit)?

And to add to my joy of the film, as I queued up for my next film, there were Brian and Jo, waiting to attend a screening of their own. They were as wonderful as you would expect them to be, and so grounded inspite of having touched the clouds.

A fantastic, true-life advenure, The Balloonists screens once more at TIFF on Saturday at Scotiabank at 9:4pm.