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There is no denying: traveling is one of many people’s favorite things to do. And it was sorely missed during the Covid-19 pandemic. But, fortunately, during this difficult time, we had the movies to help us remember the feeling of knowing a different place and experiencing new things.
The problem is that some movies can awaken in the viewer the desire to travel and to go through the same situations that the characters go through. And it is about some of these movies that we will talk about in this article.
1. Eat, Pray, Love (2010)
In this film, the main character does something we have all dreamed of doing at least once in our lives: she leaves everything behind after a divorce and goes on an adventure to get to know herself and try to solve her love problems. Her trip, which lasts about a year, has three main stops: Italy, India, and Indonesia.
With this travel itinerary, it’s hard not to want to follow the protagonist’s steps, played by Julia Roberts. The film is based on a true story told by journalist Elizabeth Gilbert in a book launched in 2006, which was among the best sellers for, at least 160 weeks, until the movie was released, in 2010.
The movie was quite successful in theaters. However, for several critics and viewers, it failed to convey the experience in the same way as the book.
But, speaking of the movie, its highlights are in the locations and scenarios, that show the richness of the destinations chosen by the character, with unusual and funny situations that make the viewer want to put himself in her place and travel to the same places.
2. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
Before becoming the great and feared Che, the young medical student Ernesto Guevara de La Serna, played by Gael Garcia Bernal decides to go on a trip and adventure with his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de La Serna) through South America, aboard Granado’s motorcycle, the “powerful”.
During this incredible adventure, the friends visit cities in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Venezuela and go through several unusual situations. Besides showing incredible landscapes and places of these countries, awakening the desire to also venture there, the film shows the beginning of Guevara’s radicalization process, which led him to become the big dictator he was.
Although it has a strong social background, the film has beautiful photographs of Latin America and will undoubtedly awaken the desire to get to know this part of our planet.
3. Rio (2011) and Rio 2 (2014)
Still in South America and still bringing a strong theme as background, we continue our list with the films Rio and Rio 2. The animations have as their central theme the issue of animal trafficking. However, even though it is a strong theme, the fact that they are animations makes the films lighter than others on this list.
The central theme of the movie is not travel, but there is no way to see it and not want to visit Brazil, or just the city of Rio de Janeiro (at leat if you watch just the first movie). In the first movie, the adventures of the macaw Blu take place in the beautiful Brazilian city, perhaps the most famous of them all, and you can’t help but feel like visiting it after watching the animation.
In the sequel, Rio 2, the background is the Amazon rainforest, another important Brazilian postcard. But before getting there, Blu and their friends pass through other important cities, such as Ouro Preto and Brasilia.
Another highlight of the movies that we cannot fail to mention is the soundtrack, with renowned Bossa Nova songs that praise Brazilian Popular Music and show a little more of the culture of this incredible country.
A really great option to travel to Rio in the next New Year’s Eve and enjoy the famous reveillon Rio de Janeiro.
4. Lost in translation (2004)
An unlikely friendship in a city with different customs and language. This is the central plot of the movie Lost in Translation, which shows the journey of two Americans in Tokyo, played by Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
The central theme of the film is loneliness and the difficulties imposed by cultural barriers experienced by these two characters, but it also shows the city in a different way, which arouses the desire to visit Japan’s capital.
5. Autumn in New York (2000)
The movie is not travel-themed, but regardless of the beautiful love story, it is impossible to watch and not fall in love with New York. Autumn gives the city a special air, with the trees with orange leaves scattered all over the city and the mild climate, not too cold, not too hot.
It is in this incredible setting that a staunch bachelor (Richard Gere) meets a free-spirited young woman (Winona Ryder), with whom he believes he will have only a brief affair. However, the romance evolves and becomes something that changes their entire lives.
The film has become a classic, but at the time of its release it was considered a cliché, and even won the Golden Raspberry Award for worst double feature.
But today, watching the film with a certain nostalgic feeling, it is hard not to want to fall in love with the streets and parks of New York. Other good option to plan a travel to the New Year’s Eve and enjoy a party of reveillon New York.
6. The Beach (1999)
The possibility of getting to know a paradise on earth, a place without tourists and uninhabited, makes young Richard, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, go in search of this place, having to pass through many dangers along the way.
However, when he and his group arrive at the beach, they discover that the place is not completely deserted, but inhabited by a group that, in the past, had also discovered the charms of the place and started living there.
However, the coexistence that should be peaceful in such a small group is not that simple and leaving the island won’t be as easy as they imagine, because some of the residents will defend the island’s secrets to the death.
There is no doubt that the beautiful beaches of Thailand are the film’s strong point, especially for travel lovers.
7. Forrest Gump (1994)
Of course, cinema’s most famous storyteller could not be left out of our list. The stories told by the simple man go through different moments in history, like the Vietnam War and the Hippie movement.
However, the most striking moment of the movie is the 3-year race that the character, played brilliantly by Tom Hanks, makes across the United States. But more than just wanting to travel, today it is possible to relive Forrest’s exploits, because there is a roadmap of the places that appear in the movie, several of them with signposts.
A great idea for those who want to escape the most touristy and commonly visited cities in America.
8. Under the Tuscan sun (2004)
Another film that tells the story of a woman who chooses to make a big change after suffering a setback and a love disappointment in her personal life. Frances Meyes decides to leave her life in San Francisco and move to a country house in Tuscany, central Italy.
During the renovation of her house, the character meets a new man who will definitely change the course of her life and make her discover the real meaning of love.
At first, the film may seem cliché. However, the script is well developed and immediately makes you want to travel to Italy.
Although the story is a little bit similar to the one we mentioned in item 1 of this list, the movies are very different. The photography is breathtaking and, be sure, the story will surprise you.
9. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
A troubled family, full of conflict and personal drama, goes on a journey across the United States so that little Olive (Abigail Breslin) can participate in a beauty contest, on a yellow Volkswagen van, which we don’t know if it will make it to the final destination.
The journey is full of mishaps and confusion. However, during all the chaos of this unusual family, we see the United States as a background landscape, while dealing with relevant themes such as depression, anxiety and homophobia.
The main characteristic of the movie is that it manages to brilliantly unite elements of comedy and drama, holding the viewer’s attention from beginning to end.
10. Before sunrise (1995)
The date between a young American and a French student on a train to Vienna starts an overwhelming passion, but with a geographical difficulty. The next day, she will go to Paris and he will return to the USA. So, they decide to live these few hours of this great passion in Vienna.
The film is charming, with brilliant dialogues and reveals the crazy things we can do to live a great passion. And all this with the beautiful city of Vienna as the land for this romance.
The film had a sequel in 2004, Before Sunset, where the years passed not only for the main actors, but also for their characters, who meet again.
And what do you think to enjoy a New Year’s Eve in Vienna to know the same places that the actors?
There are many other movies that could have been on this list, but we have chosen some of the most remarkable when it comes to wanderlust.
Take advantage of these days when we are still staying home to watch or re-watch some of these movies. You will surely feel like planning your next trip
