If you are like me and have always had an innate desire to travel, this pandemic is making you feel built up with tensions of wanting to escape and have adventure. You might be experiencing symptoms of wanderlust, restlessness and just an overall sadness for the time you have lost and all those memories that will never be because there are “stay at home” orders, on top of being sad and frustrated from the state of the world.
During this pandemic where we are sworn to our couches and have little of a life outside our computers and phones, it’s nice to get inspired about what we will be able to do one day (hopefully not too far into the future).
With little to do during these stay at home orders I personally have found solace in the collection of movies I have that can transport me to a new country. These movies are not all critical masterpieces, but watching them gives me hope that one day boarding planes will not be deemed as a health hazard. That one day it will again be encouraged as something we have to do to better our understanding of the world, with all the different cultures, religions and experiences it has to offer.
But for now while we all remain couch potatoes here is my list of movies to watch if you need to curb some feelings of wanderlust, before your restlessness takes over and u book a trip to Mexico prematurely.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) : Trapped in the repeated rhythms of an unextraordinary life, Walter Mitty experiences daydreams of adventure that are getting worse. When his job depends on him tracking down a missing photo and the photographer, he is swept up in a real life journey taking him around the world. Starring Ben Stiller, this film explodes with colour, life and an underlying message to escape the ordinary every once in a while.
This movie takes the viewer to Greenland, Iceland and Afghanistan, but in real life all of these places are just, in fact, Iceland. Originally I found this quite shocking, (it’s supposed to be an around the world movie after all?!) but now it just makes me realize how extraordinary and diverse Iceland is. With its picturesque landscapes of glacial lagoons, quaint fishermen towns and evergreen mountains, this movie takes its time to show the audience all the beauty Iceland has to offer, using wide shots and a lot of B-Roll.
Where to Watch: No streaming services have this movie in Canada. But if there is one movie I recommend, renting online it would be this one!
The Hundred Foot Journey (2014) : An Indian family fleeing the political rampage in their town, heads to Europe seeking a fresh start. They stumble upon an idyllic town in southern France called Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, where they open an Indian restaurant across the street from a posh French restaurant where the owner tries to get them to leave in every which way.
This movie to me is an undiscovered gem to the world. It perfectly combines a romance of food, culture and location. Filmed in the actual town that this movie is set in, the film showcases a simpler life among the characters who bike everywhere and get their ingredients, like fresh mushrooms or black currants, from the forests or local market. Although set in modern time, it feels like another world and makes you idealize what it would be like to move to a town in Southern France.
Where to Watch: Another entry with no where to stream unfortunately.
Wild (2014) : This memoir turned movie is the true story of prominent author Cheryl Strayed, who embarked solo on a hike of the Pacific Crest Trail a 1,100 km route. Starring Reese Witherspoon this movie takes you on a journey, not only a physical one of the character roaming the trails by herself, but also a emotional one as it shows flashbacks of her life from before, as she comes to terms with the death of her mother, a divorce and her use of heroin as a coping mechanism.
This story may not take you to quaint towns in Europe or the snowy mountains of the Himalayas but throughout the characters trek it shows you the diverse landscapes of the U.S.A’s California and Oregon. With dusty deserts to lush green forests it’s a marvel that areas like that can exist that close together.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Eat, Pray, Love (2010) : Another memoir turned movie this story is about Elizabeth Gilbert, who has left a mundane marriage and the trappings of a typical life in order to find herself and her love for life again by visiting three countries each with her own idea of what she wants to find.
You may have read this and been like this film is on every travel movie list, but that is for good reason, as it is the absolute quintessential travel movie. It feeds every wanderlust impulse you might experience and yet at the same time makes you wanna book a ticket to Naples right now.
This movie takes you to four places with such a stark contrast between them and the film does a beautiful job of capturing the essence of each place. Starting with a bustling New York, where her life takes places before she decides to embark on her travels. Then to Italy where she indulges in the simple pleasures, eating a lot of pasta and taking in the beautiful sites of Rome, then to India where she works on healing herself and gaining spirituality, and finally to Indonesia where she focuses on happiness, peace and connecting more with nature.
If you enjoyed the movie and want more from the characters adventures, I highly recommend reading the book, you might not physically get to see these places but you definitely can imagine them!
Where to Watch: Netflix
I hope this list helps you curb some wanderlust, or inspires you for future travels!