Movies To Watch When: You've Got The Travel Bug

I'm sure we've all felt that familiar itch. The restlessness to just pack a bag and hop in the car or the soonest flight and just leave the mundane, routine of brushing our teeth over the same sink day in and day out , walking out the same front door, sitting in the same traffic..etc. Now before I go on, I do need to stress that there is nothing but benefit that comes from treating your own home city as if you were a starstruck tourist visiting it for the first time. Luckily enough, living in Cape Town, we are often filled with awe and gratitude for the beauty of our city. Sure, we all complain about things- but realistically that complaining is never directed towards the aesthetic side of things. But any city has its beauty and hidden gems, and treating it as if it's a foreign country and culture that you are immersing yourself in for the first time- it's something that will really have you not only appreciating your home more, but likely learning something new or finding a new watering hole for you and your friends.

But regardless, human beings on average are quite restless creatures and many of us crave change and new scenery. And what is there to life if not to travel and embrace new cultures, expose ourselves to that around us and truly experience the vast variety and richness of the different countries and continents of this beautiful planet.

Unfortunately- many of our bank accounts can't allow for a three year back packing trip through South America, let alone the white beaches and turquoise sand of Bora Bora. And nor do our schedules. But we always need to feel as if we've had a bit of a getaway. So I've compiled a list of movies for when the travel bug has bitten but the ban account is still in rehab from First Thursdays.

The One Hundred Foot Journey

I'm almost convinced that France is on everyones travel list. And there are so many layers to the country; the hot beaches of the Riviera, the cigarette smoking and croissant eating chic-ness of Paris itself, and then there's the countryside. The rolling green hills, the ten-building (at most) villages lined with cobbled streets and striped awnings. The lack of English for about a forty kilometer radius. And who doesn't love a movie about food?! This movie is beautiful on so many levels. In it's location, the story of family, love, and eventual friendship, (and let's not forget the crushing of a mentality of superiority and entitlement- didn't catch that part?) and the food. Spend a few hours in the French countryside, eating the food through the screen, and falling for the characters (not too shabby on the looks there either. Just saying.)

Midnight in Paris

Anyone who is an English Lit nerd like me will love this movie. To be fair- I am not the biggest Owen Wilson fan. But I'm a huge Tom Hiddleston, Rachel McAdams, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, etc etc fan. And not to mention my love for F Scott Fitzgerald (and to have Tom Hiddleston playing him- was the movie made for me?). This movie almost has the facade of being a cheap, short-lived Rom Com, it doesn't come across as the Indie movie you would expect this storyline to belong to. I'm personally not a huge fan of Woody Allens movies (let alone his reputation), but every now and then he comes out with a cheap, but shiny, gem. It's a very mainstream Hollywood movie- but its storyline is made of dreams (mine at least). Not only are you transported to Paris. But you're transported to so many different eras of Paris- it's almost depressing that it isn't real. Look past Owen Wilson and his confusing accent and crooked nose- and watch the storyline behind his character. It's a movie you can switch off for- you don't need to concentrate or even listen to every single word of the dialogue, just dive into the fantastical story and take a trip into Paris- in every year of its highlight reel.

Call Me By Your Name

So this movie has made quite a stir over the year, both for its beautiful storyline, the filming, and the music. Its such a vulnerable love story and a coming of age story that it's difficult not to love. The setting is a character in itself- the heat of the Italian summer has such a presence and roll in the emotion of the story. And on top of that- is there a more beautiful place for a heated summer romance to occur? If not for the small village where most of the story takes place, then for the short trip into Rome itself. The background of so many of the scenes is so beautiful to the point of distraction. This is such an incredible movie to watch and escape into a heated holiday (in both the summer and the relationships that unfold). Absolutely cannot recommend it enough- and I have to be that person but if you enjoy the movie; READ THE BOOK. They might be the same story but their differences contribute so much to them being spectacular very independently of each other.

Life of Pi

This might seem a little strange because a lot of the story takes place on a tiny boat floating in the middle of the sea with a young man and a tiger. And to be honest, have we even come to the conclusion of which of the stories is the real one? But the opening scenes, the very Wes Anderson-esque colours, characters and film shots of them all- it makes India look as fantastical and magical as the fables and stories. Sure, its a picturesque version, one filled with colour and spectacularity, but it is so beautiful that you are immediately transported into the world behind the screen. You get lost in the story to the point of not really caring what the truth is. Even the scenes when they are lost at sea- you feel like you're hallucinating. This movie has got to be on your list, not even for the Indian part of it, but rather for the weird and wonderfulness of it. You feel almost as if you're watching Fantasia as a kid for the first time again!

Slumdog Millionaire

So for the far more raw and less picturesque and idealistic India; this movie is a roller coaster ride. It quite literally exposes so much of India and it's severe disparity and division between luxury and the slums; and in the same breath it reveals what is so beautiful about India. The people, the durability of the country, the teetering balance in which it all lies, and beyond that the country and land itself. I'm so desperately itching to travel to India and fall in love with it that these movies are almost cruelly tempting. This movie is a huge contrast to the obvious beauty of the movies mentioned before, but has its own beauty in its truth of what it is like to live in the country and the true experience of it. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you are really depriving yourself (specifically of Dev Patel). (Also if you enjoy this then I highly recommend reading Shantaram- talk about exposing the duality of the lives and experiences in India.)

And now for some super cheesy options- obviously.

Eat Pray Love

Monte Carlo

Couples Retreat

---

This list really could go on forever but I've tried to keep it as concise as possible. I'l do a part 2 probably as there really are so many more worth watching.

Enjoy travelling through your screens!

Have a lovely day xx

#list #MoviesToWatchWhen #travel #blog #opinion #india #paris #literature #beach