BootsnAll Travel Community

So I'm getting my wisdom teeth ripped out of my mouth tomorrow morning... that means 3-4 days on the couch (getting paid... gotta love working for the National Institute of Health)

Any movies travel-related or backingpacking type movies I should see? I'm headed to Israel, Jordan and SE Asia (all of it!) in January.

Thanks!
Nathan

Ya mean besides "The Beach"? (barf!)
Movies where people are traveling?

Hideous Kinky
The Man Who Would Be King
Brokedown Palace
The Accidental Tourist
Topkapi
Vanishing Point

Movies that make you thing about what not to do while traveling...

Midnight Express
• Return to Paradise
• Bangkok Hilton
• The Killing fields

Those might be four of the most depressing movies ever listed together.

"Sheltering Sky"
"Two for the Road"

"Before the Sunrise"

How about "High Risk" or "American Werewolf In London"?

D

I recommend "Top Gun"

american werewolf in paris was better

It depends on where you're going. Definitely not the Godfather for Southern Italy, for example, as it romanticises the mafia far too much.
I really like some foreign films. Try 'Rembetiko" for Greece (available on DVD)
For sheer nonsense about Greek island summer holidays, try 'Summer Lovers'(An American film)
Back to other films: Carlos Saura's flamenco version of "Carmen" for Spain (yes!)
for Italy, Visconti's "Rocco and his brothers"
Antonioni's "L'Aventurra" and Fellini's "Roma"
or "Amarcord".
Come on, you're on Bootsnall, you can't mind subtitles!
For Paris, there are so many films, both American and French, that it seems hardly worth mentioning.
Werner Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" for Amazonian Brazil.
And 'City of God" for urban Brazil.
For Poland, "Man of Marble," "Man of Iron" and "The Promised Land," all directed by Wajda. If you think that sounds a bit heavy, try "The Promised Land" first.
Hollywood rarely gets Europe absolutely right. But for the Czech Republic, you could do worse than try "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", which, after all is all about freedom etc. and is in English, and based on one of my favourite books of all time.
The 'Quiet American' for Vietnam, based on Graham Greene's magnificent novel, and starring Michael Caine, among others.
None of these movies are exactly travelogue -style, but they all offer glimpses into the countries you can visit and give you perspective.

As a P.S.:I'm aware that all these movies, except the Quiet American, have nothing to do with the places you mentioned, but I took the general title of the thread to answer, because though there are threads about books to read before you visit a country, there isn't much about films. I don't know of any movie set in Jordan, or Israel, (except the Little Drummer Girl, or parts of the Omen!) and all the SE Asian ones that I know have been mentioned already.

will help..

israel/palestine

"divine intervention" and "cup final"

quote:

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"Before the Sunrise"

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Loved that movie. I watched it for the first time in 98 (dunno when it came out) when I was in the middle of my solo trip in Europe, and hanging out with a former gf with whom I ended having a summer fling. A couple months ago I watched it again, and then learned that they were making the sequel to it. Now I'm going back to Europe. Coincidence...or a sign?

Seven Years in Tibet!

"Dove" 70's movie about Robin Lee Graham's solo voyage around the world at 16 years old. great scenery. Great book by same name.

Johannes

I recently watched a thai film called
"Last Life in the Universe". It's beautiful and totally worth it. The shots are complex and carefully crafted, makes you want to watch it a second time so that you can get the most out of it. I love films like this where the plot is so simple and the filmakers make the most out of the feelings that come out of such simplicity. The cinematographer is Cristopher Doyle, which you may be familiar with if you are into Wong Kar Wai films (such as the amazing "In the Mood for Love", chinese, worth looking for) and the director is an emerging thai director I've been told to keep my eyes on.

Also thai, "Beautiful Boxer" is based on the true story of a thai man who wanted to become a woman and paid his sex change operation with boxing. And he was a good famous boxer. Good film.

I am very into checking local films but so far have had no luck whatsoever with the Malaysian films I have tried. So "Puteri Gunung Ledang" I am not recommending for the quality but it's interesting visually-wise and for telling an ancient Malaysian legend. They spent shit loads of cash on that film, I guess it's the most expensive movie ever made in Malaysia history. So technically it's quite good, but there are major screenplay problems. Worth it anyway.

Oh, another good one for insights in life and visuals,australian, is "Japanese Story.

Now, none of the above are "backpacking films" or "travelogue" style films.

So I went out and rented all the movies you guys talked about, since I hadn't seen any of them. I went in this order.

• Return to Paradise
  
• Brokedown Palace
  
• Midnight Express
  

The resounding message of these films seems to be - Don't talk to anyone, and don't (under any circumstances) smuggle drugs. Unless you want to die in a Thai prison, spend 60 years in a women's Thai prison, or be beaten for 5 years in a Turkish prison. Now I'm afraid to fly to Oklahoma.

... little side note. I had no idea the joke about "Oh Billy!" in The Cable Guy had anything to do with Midnight Express.

L' Auberge Espagnol is one my favorites...although it takes place in Europe, and only sort-of deals with traveling...more of a study abroad focus if you will.

court

How about Kiss the Sky. Not a backpacking movie or about travel but these guys quit their jobs/families/lives to find themselves.

I'm with Court, L'auberge Espagnol rocks.

One of the first movies I saw that made me want to travel is "A Roman Holiday"
I'd love to have Audrey Hepburn ride a scooter with me.

By the way what the heck is wrong with the beach?

I thought it was good to ok, not great but good. And the book well I wish I had read it before I saw the movie but the book is even better