There's nothing like sitting in a cinema, munching your popcorn and watching an inspiring movie about someone's travels in exotic locations.
Well, actually travelling to those exotic places yourself is probably more inspiring! Still, you have to start somewhere, so here we present 10 of the best movies that will have you booking your next adventure as soon as the credits roll.
The Trip to Italy (2014)
Where it takes you: Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi and ending in Capri.
The fictional Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon team up again for a second restaurant tour, this time in Italy. The characters eat at some of the finest restaurants and beautiful hotels across the country from Piedmont to Capri – following the footsteps of romantic poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. It's a gastronomical journey and a lot of fun.
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Where it takes you: France
If you are into Woody Allen films, Paris and art, you will love this movie. Owen Wilson as Gil Pender is an aspiring novelist who travels to Paris with his fiancée’s family and somehow finds himself travelling back in time to the 1920’s and meets icons in art and literature like Cole Porter, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. It's a sweet film, beautifully shot.
Touching the Void (2003)
Where it takes you: The Peruvean Andes
Based on the dramatic true story of Simon Yates who, with Joe Simpson, attempted to scale the never-before-climbed 21,000 foot Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. On the descent, a disastrous fall levels Yates, shattering his leg … mountaineering “alpine style,” (carrying gear and food on your back,) didn’t make the situation any easier. Now separated, Yates and Simpson must access every shred of strength and courage in their being to make their way home in this ruggedly real mountain voyage. A gripping and inspiring true story.
Baraka (1992)
Where it takes you: Everywhere!
Baraka is a non-narrative documentary film exploring multiple themes via a kaleidoscopic compilation of natural events, life, human activities and technological phenomena shot in 24 countries on six continents over a 14-month period. Shot in 70mm film, Baraka (meaning “blessing” in several languages,) is more of a transcendent global tour – an exploration of extraordinary places, peoples and cultures that create the world’s pulse. A viewing experience truly awesome and like nothing you’ve seen or felt before.
Eat Pray Love (2010)
Where it takes you: Italy, India, Indonesia
The book-turned-movie Eat Pray Love has been inspiring people to travel and seek a life or career outside the big buzzing cities ever since i t was released. Yet another one based on a real story and memoir, Julia Roberts plays the author of the book Liz Gilbert. The fil m visually takes us through her transformational journey from a difficult divorce to a quest of self-discovery through eating in Italy, India and finally Indonesia or more precisely Bali. A good date night film.
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Where it takes you: Tuscany, Italy
Here's another film based on someone's memoirs of breaking out of their old life and creating something new in an exotic country. But be warned! With all the delightful wines, mouthwatering food, remote cottages and scenic rolling hills shown in the film, this romantic flick will inspire to you to travel to this Italian paradise, as well as urge you to scrap your urban life, for a chance to harvest an awesome dream of living a life Under the Tuscan Sun. However I personally think the book is better than the film. You decide!
Out of Africa (1985)
Where it takes you: Kenya
Meryl Streep and Robert Redford star in this tragic love story about a married baroness who falls for a big-game hunter, based on the autobiographical novel by Isak Dinesen. Filmed on location in the UK and Kenya, including the Shaba National Game Reserve, Out of Africa feels about as epic as the doomed love affair between two very different people. A sweeping film filled with wild, timeless landscapes.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Where it takes you: India
The Darjeeling Limited is a wacky film about three wealthy, spoiled brothers taking an overland train trip through India. They haven’t spoken in a year, and the trip is supposed to heal and bond them again. Initially it all goes wrong as they bicker and fight. They are all suffering from depression, and pop pain killers like candy. When it seems like nothing is going right, their crazy experiences along the way finally put things into perspective. The movie is hilarious, and beautifully shot. It will make you want to visit India, and if you've never heard of the director Wes Anderson, this is a great introduction to his distinctive visual and narrative style of filmmaking.
Tracks (2013)
Where it takes you: Western Australia
Standing in for real-life writer Robyn Davidson, Mia Wasikowska travels across WA's breathtaking landscape with only four camels and a beloved dog for company. Her occasional human visitors include a photographer for National Geographic (Adam Driver), an indigenous Australian elder named Mr. Eddy who guides her through sacred lands, and various tourists who come to gawk at the so-called Camel Lady. Davidson’s solo trip was beyond the pale for a woman in the '70s, but it's still incredibly inspiring today.
Wild (2014)
Where it takes you: USA
Reese Witherspoon donned a pair of ill-fitting hiking boots and a giant backpack for her role as Cheryl Strayed, a writer who trekked 1800km on the famed Pacific Crest Trail after the devastating loss of her mother. (The film is based on Strayed’s best-selling 2012 book of the same name.) Strayed crosses the dusty Mojave, crazy forests, snowy fields, and muddy trails, losing toenails but gaining mental clarity – or at least self-acceptance – along the way. The screenplay was co-written by Nick Hornby, best known for his novels (also turned into movies) High Fidelity and About a Boy.