924 words/7:00 minutes reading time
In between those moments when we feel like we can’t get away — whether we have too much happening in life, don’t know where to go next, or are simply waiting for our next trip — it is nice to be able to escape with the help of cinema. That is why we put together a list of 8 movies that will help to inspire the traveler in you. In no particular order, here is our list to get away.
- Roman Holiday
Featuring two of Hollywood’s most iconic faces, Roman Holiday stars Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. This romantic comedy sees the two actors spend a short time in Rome, find love, and eventually depart from one another leaving the audience with the sensation that not all good things can last as long as we like them — but the fact that they happen is great enough in itself.
Famous locations include the Plaza de Spangia, the Mouth of Truth, the Trevi Fountain, the Tiber River, the Colosseum, and much more.
- Darjeeling Limited
The Darjeeling Limited, a film by a master of cinematic aesthetic Wes Anderson, stars Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody, and Jason Schwartzman as three brothers on a train through India all seeking reconciliation and spiritual reconnection after the passing of their father. Most of the film is placed on a luxury train with many scenes being filmed in the cities of Jodhpur and Udaipur in Rajasthan. As film critic Roger Ebert said the film “uses India not in a touristy way, but as a backdrop that is very, very there.”
- Paris Je T’Aime
This film, meaning I Love You Paris, is actually 18 short films compiled together with each of the segments being dedicated to one of Paris’s 18 districts. The film has a star-studded cast of actors and directors with such big names as Elijah Wood, Natalie Portman, Steve Buscemi, Willem Defoe, Juliette Binoche, Nick Nolte, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bob Haskins, Joel and Ethan Coen, Gérard Depardieu, Wes Craven, and Gus Van Zant.
Famous locations include Montmartre, Le Marais, the Bastille, Quartier de la Madeleine, the Quartier Latin, the Eiffel Tower (of course), and many others.
- Before Sunrise Trilogy
This indie trilogy follows the story of two lovers (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) who fall in and out of life with each other over the course of roughly twenty years. The films offer an intimate look at how places and people can be immersed in their environments and how those places can affect our relationships with others.
Placed in the three majestic cities of Vienna (Before Sunrise), Paris (Before Sunset), and Kalamata, Greece (Before Midnight) some of the locations visited are Pont Neuf, Quai Henri-IV, Shakespeare & Company Bookstore in Paris, the Ancient city of Messini, The Kardamali Pier, and the Westin Resort in Greece, and a showcase of walking through Vienna.
- Indiana Jones Franchise
Definitely the most fantastical and over-the-top film(s) on this list, India Jones is one of the highest-earning film franchises of all time and one of the most beloved for those of us who seek adventure and to understand the mysteries of history. Starring Harrison Ford and created by George Lucas with direction by Steven Spielberg this franchise has also shared on the silver screen the talents of Sean Connery, Karen Allen, Ke Huy Quan, River Phoenix, John Rhys-Davies, Shia LeBeouf, Cate Blanchett, and John Hurt, to mention a few. A fifth installment is coming in 2023.
Being a film about one of the world’s most adventurous fictional heroes, who also happens to be a mega-scholar when it comes to ancient artifacts and history, these films take us all over the globe, with locations like Southeast Asia, India, Tibet, Egypt, Europe, South America, and North Africa.
- Lost in Translation
This heartfelt comedy-drama is about an unlikely friendship that makes the audience question the types of intimate connections we can make with the more unlikely of people. Starring Bill Murray as a spokesperson for a whiskey brand and Scarlett Johannsen as a young girlfriend of an up-and-coming business hotshot who travels to Tokyo this movie shows life in Japan and what it is like to be out of our comfort zone — whether those zones be space, time, or with others. The movie is a great view of what Tokyo looks like and how it might feel to be a traveler there.
- The Bucket List
This is a good movie to end our list on. So many of us have lists we never complete and it is no different for places we all want to go. This movie stars Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson as two elderly gentlemen who, towards the end of life, make a pact to visit all the places they never got two. Taking into account the ideas of regret, and loss, but also redemption and loving the little things, this movie makes us contemplate how we approach our own dreams and desires — for better or worse.
After the film takes us through adventures on the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids at Giza, the North Pole, racing the California Motorway, safari in Tanzania, Hong Kong, and the French Riviere, it ends leaving the audience with a sense of how we must all seek to enjoy the majesty of life.
Like with all our blogs, no list is ever complete, but we do hope what we put together inspires those who read it to take up the life of adventure and enjoy the gift of travel and the world we get to experience.
