I like to know what I'm getting myself into, as a general rule. I'm a fan of known unknowns, as Donald Rumsfeld might say. When starting something new, I don't need all of the facts, but I would at least like an idea of the possibilities that await me. If you are anything like me, and in this respect I am sure you are, Apollo has smited (smote? smit? smitenned?) us both. Back in the day, he was known for granting the power of prophecy. Cassandra of Troy? Apollo. The sibyls? Apollo. He was The Oracle Maker. The Sayer of Soothsayers.
But when you and I want to predict the future? Even just a tiny bit? Just to get the gist of things? The Sun God is a total flake.
That's okay, though. We're smart. We can find other means of divining. I like to use movies to find out more about places and experiences. On the screen, you can familiarize yourself with situations, landscapes, characters, and more that you could never have imagined on your own. In preparation of my grad school year abroad, I've been rewatching a few. So, I've made a list of my favorite travel themed movies, in case you have a trip of your own you'd like to plan... or maybe you could just watch them for daydream fodder.
1. Roman Holiday (1953) / Funny Face (1957)
If you watch one of these, you might as well make it a mini-marathon and watch the other. You should probably save an hour or two in the evening, too, so you can brush up on Breakfast at Tiffany's or Sabrina.
The Rome and Paris you can visit today aren't quite the ones that existed when these films came out, but they do show you the Rome and Paris that still exist in everyone's imaginations, the ones that still appear in dreams.
They're the ones that aren't covered in graffiti and don't have ten key-chain vendors on every corner. Where people break out into song and bulky modern apartment blocks hadn't taken off just yet.
You should know these cities first, before you get to know the real ones. Then, you can break out into song when you get there, too. Even if you're only brave enough to hum under your breath.
Roman Holiday is available to stream on Netflix, Funny Face is not :(
2. Midnight in Paris (2011)
If only all movie makers with a strong understanding of human spirit were required to also be decent human beings.
This is not the case. Woody Allen sucks as a person.
Woody Allen's dangerous levels of suckitude, however, make Gil Bender's nostalgia for a city he doesn't quite know and a time he's never actually experienced no less familiar.* You'll spend the entire movie going ohhhh i want to walk on that street in the rain while Cole Porter plays faintly in the background.
Sooner or later, you might even find yourself sitting on the steps of St. Etienne, watching the moon rise, waiting to be transported to another time.
Midnight in Paris is not available to stream on Netflix, but Amelie is and that one features some beautiful shots of Paris, too.
*especially if you've taken my advice and watched Audrey Hepburn's movies first.
3. Wild Child (2008)
This movie is so charming in spite of one's most ardent wishes to find it not so.
Wild Child tells the story of Poppy Moore, a stereotypical "Malibu princess" who gets sent to a boarding school in the Scottish countryside as punishment for throwing her new step-mother's clothing off of a cliff. The characters are one dimensional. The tropes are stale. The plot is predictable.
And yet.
And yet, Poppy's transition from being a "fish out of water" to realizing that maybe she was a bird all along never ceases to make me smile. Any person throwing themselves into a new culture can only hope to make as fitting a home as Poppy does out of her new environment.
4. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
This movie is only partly the story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy slowly falling in love. Mostly, it's the story of the viewer falling in love with the English countryside.
I make no exaggeration when I say that this is one of the most gorgeous movies to ever be released in theaters, with a soundtrack and story to match.
Really those last two things are only secondary features of the film. The nature and landscapes surrounding Lizzy and Darcy are focal points of Joe Wright's adaptation. Watch this and you'll be taking daybreak walks and planning a trip to the Peak District in no time.
5. Summertime (1955)
The story of a secretary who goes off on a trip to Venice and buys an antique goblet, and the events that happen thereafter. Katharine Hepburn captures perfectly the loneliness, excitement, and vulnerability of going off on a solo voyage.
Like the other Hepburn's films this is the Venice of Old. A view into the almost-recent past. Nothing has changed about the crowds of Piazza San Marco, though.
6. The Indiana Jones Trilogy (1980s)
A reminder: you may not fight Nazis, meet thousand year-old knights, or have your heart pulled out of your chest on your journeys, but that doesn't mean they are any less exciting.
Indiana Jones I, II, and III are not available on Netflix, but they are on cable always.
7. The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) & The Hobbit (2012)
While you can visit the shire, these aren't on the list for the ohhh i have to have to go there someday feeling so much as they are because they perfectly capture what it is to leave home and venture into the unknown: Sam's pause at the edge of the Shire, Bilbo sitting in his comfortable home and realizing that maybe comfort wasn't the end-all he'd thought it to be.
These moments are your heart projected on the screen.
Like Indiana Jones, The Fellowship of the Ring is often on cable. As for The Hobbit: x
8. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
A Wes Anderson movie.
Those are really the only words to accurately describe the movie, except that the story centers around three slightly-estranged brothers, taking a train journey across India together.
As a Wes Anderson feature, it is characteristically beautifully shot, funny, and poignant. After you watch it, you'll also want to take a seriously long, doomed to fail, train ride with your estranged siblings, too.
And race Bill Murray to catch a train.
Just look at Adrian Brody go.
The Darjeeling Limited is not available to stream on Netflix, but is often on HBOGO.
9. Chasing Liberty (2004)
A more traditional American-teenagers-gone-backpacking story...
...if typical American teenagers were offspring of the Commander in Chief or undercover secret service agents. This movie takes a lot of cues from the first movie on the list, Roman Holiday and contains too much cheesy goodness to ignore.
Chasing Liberty can be rented from Youtube for $2.99
BONUS:
10. Northanger Abbey (2007)
Another Jane Austen selection.
It's not a travel movie, really, and I've always loved the movie and book for their own merits, but I've picked it for only one reason.
Northanger Abbey is (partly) set in the city where I'll be studying: Bath. Not only do you get to know the beautiful city and its surrounding countryside, but it also takes you to Bath's heyday as a resort town in the early 19th century.
Pretty scenery AND a history lesson!
Am I the only one excited about the history lesson?
There's also kissing.
11. House Hunters International
Not a movie, but a tv show.
Film is a very recent development in human history and our brains haven't quite adapted yet. When we watch sports games, our brains think we're the ones trying to throw the ball down to the ten yard line, which is why you might find yourself on your knees, pulling out your hair, and yelling at the tv when it's intercepted.
When you watch house hunting shows, the same principle stands: you get wrapped up in the experience because your brain can't quite understand that you're not the one buying the multi-million dollar flat in London.
This means, that not only do you get to see what sort of places people live in all over the globe, but it kind of feels like you're making the move to a new country, yourself. And if you ever do make the move, you'll know better than to ask why the fridges are all so small.
House Hunters International is totally available to stream on Netflix.
Until next time,
Julia
