If you have as severe a case of wanderlust like me, then you know how painfully slow the months between travel can be. It often feels like the ‘real world’ is just too routine and too slow to your enhanced senses. You want something to take away the dullness; something to indulge yourself in as you wait for the next great adventure. The simplest solution would be to just travel. Pack up your things and head on to your next travel destination. However, this isn’t always possible. Sometimes you just don’t have enough money yet. Sometimes you have work or family responsibilities that are holding you back. In that case, you really have to make the best of your time waiting.
But how do you make the best of the waiting time? Why not watch movies? It certainly works for me. In fact, when I watch movies, I love to go for a particular niche genre: the travel movie. It feeds my travel fantasies while suitably entertaining me at the moment. I have racked up quite a few favorites over my years of watching them, and I would like to share my humble list with you.
One Week (Canada)
This movie stars Joshua Jackson of The Affair and Dawson’s Creek fame. It’s all about a guy who, upon learning that he has terminal cancer, decides to ride his bike across Canada. I loved this movie because of how strongly I wanted to go out and explore Canada after watching it.
To be honest, it is very emotionally hard hitting, and touches on a very sad nerve, but the real reason I loved this film was how uplifting it turned out in the end, as well as all the great travel destinations on it.
In Bruges (Belgium)
This one stars Colin Farrell, a very talented actor, but the way. In Bruges made me even more of a believer in the kind of magic he brings to the screen. To be fair, he spent most of the time on the gondola through the canals of Bruges complaining about how much he hated the place.
The beauty of it is that he`s complaining was ironically juxtaposed to just how beautiful the sights and sounds of Bruges are. It felt a little like when I was writing my Edubirdie review. You can choose to hate on something, but that doesn’t really take away from it if it’s truly beautiful.
There was Brendan Gleeson on one hand, reading the guidebooks and learning about the history of the city, and then Colin Farrell, on the other, who kept talking about how much he hated it. I thought it was great writing and directing and it just made me love the movie more.
Up in The Air (United States)
Up in the air follows George Clooney as he travels to different destinations across the United States. It really contrasts the beauty of traveling against the potential emptiness you can feel like a vagabond if you don’t have friends and family to keep you grounded.
One thing I noticed was that George Clooney’s character sort of had traveled well organized. I can be quite disorganized when traveling, and sometimes find myself forgetting unauthorized items in my luggage. It was a great reminder to get organized.
Out of Africa (Kenya)
The love between big game hunter Robert Redford and a married baroness (played by the super talented Meryl Streep) is fated to never last, and yet the chemistry between them is undeniable.
This movie is set in another time, but on the easily recognizable plains of Africa, such beautiful content. Kenya, an East African country, really shines through here with its lush savannahs and majestic animals. Meryl Streep’s character falls in love with the land as the movie progresses, and the viewer cannot help but fall in love along with her.
I loved the cinematography on this one and couldn’t wait to have my first trip to Africa after. I worked with a lot of people from Kenya when I worked for a paper writing service and they are wonderful people. I would love to meet them in person.
Mexico trilogy (Mexico)
Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek both star in this one and the level of sexiness they bring to the movie is hard to beat. You would have to go through all 3 movies of the trilogy in order to truly appreciate this work of art. The first is El Mariachi, the second is Desperado, and the final movie in the trilogy is Once Upon A Time In Mexico.
To be honest, it can sometimes rely too heavily on stereotypes of Mexico (I’m looking at you, Once Upon A Time In Mexico), but it does romanticize the lawlessness of the wild west and the allure of living on the edge in a way that makes me want to sign up for that life.
At the very least, it has fantastic scenery and the cinematography and music are exquisite.
Under The Tuscan Sun (Tuscany, Italy)
This is not only an excellent movie for travelers, but also a real score for romantics. It follows the exploits of a young woman played by Diane Lane who buys a villa in Tuscany on a whim and just ‘gets away from it all’. It does make you want to believe the idea that running away from it all is the perfect solution to all of your problems. I loved it for the drama, the comedy and, above all, the beautiful scenery.
The Bucket List (Many Different Places)
This movie has both Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson in it. Those are two of my favorite actors of all time! But apart from that, I also love the message, which is to live your life to the fullest. The phrase “live your life to the fullest” has been used so much that it’s come to sound rather trite. However, the message always rings true for me, and that’s what these movies embody. Imagine waking up one day, creating that bucket list you’ve always been meaning to create, and then going out there and crossing stuff off of it. That’s exactly what this movie is about!
Slumdog Millionaire (India)
This movie is my favorite Indian movie of all time. Something I noticed about India when I travelled there is how much contrast there is. The cities are rich and modern; comparable to any city in the west. The rural slums, however, can be heartbreaking. Slumdog Millionaire captures the reality of India very well, from the slums to the rich cities. It also captures the loving hearts of the Indian people, and their warm hospitality, that I have never taken for granted.
Conclusion
These are only some of the travel movies I’ve watched, but they definitely rank as the best in my book. Do you have any favorites yourself? I would love to know about them!
Author Bio
Jennifer Sanders has been working as an editor and copywriter at Essay Writer, an assignment writing service in Toronto for 3 years. She is also a professional content writer and journalist, offering thesis help, resume services, and assignment help at paper writing service. She loves to write blogs about such topics as productivity, inspiration, education, and technology.
