madhuonthego

Some movies make you laugh, Some make you cry, Some inspire, Some scare and then some make you want to run away from your mundane routine to somewhere exciting!

Those movies generate a burning desire in you, to pack your bags and head off to the destination you always wished for or rather just saw in the movie. They also help you set your long term travel goals and checklist. What do you think? Arent Movies a great source of inspiration?

Here’s a list of my 10 most favorite travel movies. I am sure these will inspire your wanderlust too.

PS: this list is biased to the large extend towards movies showcasing offbeat destinations, places with an abundance of nature, breathtaking views and serenity. This is not an exhaustive list, I keep adding to it or create a part 2

1) Secret Life of Walter Mitty – Shot at some of the most breathtaking and unseen locations (like Iceland, Afghanistan) this movie is a complete feast to the eyes. Its a movie about a guy who dreams of having an action-packed and adventurous life, but his real-life & job is as boring and monotonous as it can get. And when his job was threatened, Walter sets on a global journey to find out the missing photo negative (by the mysterious photographer) required to be printed in the last edition of the magazine. The journey turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined. Some of the scenes and amazing locations will leave you awestruck and dreaming. I quite liked some of the dialogues in the movie. Must watch!

 

2) Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – Haven’t all of us dream about spending a carefree vacation with our best buddies, leaving all the worries and work deadlines aside. Well, it’s a movie about 3 friends who take a bachelor’s trip to Spain. Trip and the sequence of events give them a chance to bond with each other, mend fences, fall in love with life, in the meantime conquering their fears and emerging as a real winner. Adding to this incredible story are the beautiful locations shown during their road trip (Costa Brava, Seville, Bunol, Pamplona).

 

3) Letters to Juliet – This story is about a young American aspiring writer who travels to the city of Verona and joins a group of volunteers who respond to letters to Juliet seeking advice about love. When she answers one letter dated 1957, she inspires its writer to travel to Italy in search of her long-lost love. A sweet love story set on a beautiful backdrop of the Italian countryside, vineyards, and historic monuments.

4) A good year – Starring Russell Crowe, this movie features him as a busy investment banker who learns that his uncle has left him an ancestral home and vineyards at Provence. He visits the place to sell it but soon the beauty of the countryside and old memories make him change his mind and fall in love with the place. It’s definitely a movie for vineyards and wine lovers.

5) Eat Pray Love – Probably one of the most famous and talked about travel movies. Based on Author Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir from her trip around the world after her divorce. The protagonist (Julia Roberts) spends time in Italy, eating and enjoying life (“Eat”), discovering spirituality in India (“Pray”). And her journey ends in Bali, Indonesia  where she finds love (“Love”). This movie inspired us to take a vacation to Bali 🙂

6) Queen – It’s truly a fun movie with a message. The movie shows how a simple timid girl transforms into a confident & independent person. Her life changes when She decides to go on her honeymoon alone after her fiancé calls off their wedding. While traveling alone, she makes new friends, discovers her true confident self and finds joy in the process. The aspect of how you meet strangers and make friends with them during travel is the part I liked the most.

 

7) Under the Tuscan Sun – I must say I am really biased in my liking towards the movies with vineyards and countryside. I liked this movie, not for the story (the story is very common) but for the backdrop in which this movie is filmed. Tuscany lives up to all the hype that surrounds it and will surely make you want to settle in a small Italian village or at least take a vacation to Italy

8) Midnight in Paris – Though I am not a great fan of art & literature, I liked this movie for beautifully showcasing Paris in both the modern era as well as the 1920s.This is a movie about a writer who is struggling to write his first novel and falls in love with Paris during his visit to the City with his fiancé. He gets transported to the 1920s every night while wandering on the streets of the “City of Lights” and meets some of the most famous artists and writers of that time.

9) Into the wild – This movie is based on a true story where a guy sets out on a road trip, leaving everything behind to discover real life. After graduating from college, Christopher travels through the USA (without money) before ending up in Alaska. There are beautiful quotes in the movie. Below is the one that summarises it all

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; There is a rapture on the lonely shore; There is society, where none intrudes; By the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not man the less, But Nature more’’

 10) Wild – This movie is based on a book with the same name. Cheryl Strayed decides to start a new life by hiking along the 1100 mile-long Pacific Crest Trail despite a lack of hiking experience, in the course of her journey she discovers her true self.

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