8 Great Movies That Inspire Travel

You knew it was coming.

It’s media week at ThePlanetD and what is a week about travel in the media without travel movies.  Dave and I worked in the film business for over a decade so we take our movie choices as seriously as our travel destinations.

When we choose a movie that inspires travel, we don’t take it lightly.  Picking a travel movie is important business. The type of movies you like says a lot about a person, so we are putting ourselves out there and tacking the hard hitting news of the travel world, Movies that Inspire Travel.

We could have gone with the usual choices, The Beach, Slumdog Millionaire, Amelie and Motorcycle Diaries, but we wanted to try to go with a little bit of a different list. Everyone knows that these are great movies, (O.K. maybe not The Beach) so here are 8 other great travel movies that will inspire you to go out and see the world.

Our choices of travel movies are probably very different than your, so leave a comment and let us know what movie you love.

[amazonify]B002VXGW2E:left:product:thpld-20:[/amazonify]

-

1.Julie & Julia

Paris France

Not only does this movie star the great Meryl Streep and one of the most versatile actresses around Amy Adams, this movie is about travel and blogging. It follows the life of Julia Child through her time in Paris while cutting to present day in new york where Julie Powell blogged about cooking her way through the Julia Child Cookbook. Meryl Streep’s Julia loved Paris so much that she made you believe that it was the most desirable place on earth. This movie cannot be watched on an empty stomach, and you must have a fine glass of wine in your hand. It makes you crave French cuisine and a life of decadence in France.

-

-

[amazonify]B00337KM2S:left:product:thpld-20:[/amazonify]

2. Up in the Air

Airports and Hotels Across America

This movie is a film of contrasts. While it makes you love the idea of travel, it shows the emptiness that the life of a vagabond can lead if you don’t stay grounded with your family and friends. I cannot go through airport security anymore without thinking of George Clooney.  And whenever I do go through security, I realize just how unorganized I am. His character has his travels down to a science.  The truth is, Dave and I may travel a lot, but we are very disorganized. We have way too much in our carry on luggage, we always seem to leave some sort of unauthorized item inside, like nail clippers or an eye glass repair kit and we are always misplacing our boarding pass. Ah, to be cool like George. Life would be good.

-

[amazonify]B001YMDCE4:left:product:thpld-20:[/amazonify]
-

3. One Week (2008)

Road Trip Across Canada

No movie has made me want to explore a country more than One Week.  The irony is, we have been to most of the stops on this road trip movie because it takes place in Canada. Starring Joshua Jackson of Dawson Creek and Fringe fame, One Week follows a young man driving a motorcycle across Canada after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. I didn’t want to see this movie because of its morbid subject, but it ended up being an uplifting and enlightening film.  One week is a love letter to Canada and a tribute to being alive.

-

[amazonify]B0018BD9DA:left:product:thpld-20:[/amazonify]

4. In Bruges

Bruges Belgium

Colin Farrel had fallen out of my choice of favorite actors after such duds ad Miami Vice and Alexander, but when we watched In Bruges he made me realize why Hollywood loved him in the first place.  When he constantly complained of hating Bruges as he and Brenden Gleason took the gondola through the canals I thought it was excellent writing and direction.  The more he complained, the more you took in the surroundings and noticed just how picturesque Bruges is.  As Brenden Gleason took in the history and read the guide books admiring the city, Colin Farrel just kept talking about how much he hated Bruges, which made me love it more. He hated it as they looked out over the city from the clock tower, he hated sitting in the beautiful medieval square and he hated going into a Pub for a drink. The more he hated it, the more I wanted to go to Bruges.

-

[amazonify]B000FO0AA6&fc1:left:product:thpld-20:[/amazonify]

-

5. Romancing the Stone

Columbia

Who didn’t fantasize about an adventure in Columbia after watching Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone.  As a kid I always thought about the line “I need to get to Cartagena” and I had no idea where it was, but I knew it was exciting.  I loved how Kathleen turner transformed and started to become a confident and beautiful woman as she journeyed through the jungle of Central America. Michael Douglas was the epitome of rugged mysterious man, and Columbia was completely exotic. It is too bad they made such a terrible sequel. I hear there is another in the works for 2011, let’s hope it’s a good one.

-

[amazonify]B000ASDFI6&fc1:left:product:thpld-20:[/amazonify]

6.Once Upon a Time in Mexico Robert Rodriguez Mexico Trilogy

Mexico

How sexy is this movie?  The sequel to the excellent El Mariachi and Desperado, Once Upon a time in Mexico ends the trilogy with Antonio Banderas, Selma Hayak, Cheech Marin. This time Johnny Depp joins them for the ride. Even if you don’t care about the story line, watching these three beautiful people is worth the price of the ticket.  Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a fantasy and it is a stereotype of Mexico, but it makes me think of the wild west days of lawlessness and living life on the edge. The scenery is gorgeous, the film is filled with cool style and the music is fabulous. Oh yeah, it makes me want to go to mexico and find my own Mexican Adventure.

-

-

[amazonify]B001DJ7PR8&fc1:left:product:thpld-20:[/amazonify]
-

7. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain

Admit it, we all want to go to Spain and run into the beautiful people like Penelope Cruise and Javier Barden.  The Spanish are so much more in touch with their raw emotions. They live life with a passion that the rest of us don’t have. At least that is what Vicky Christina Barcelona makes us think.  Oh how I wish that we all had rich relatives living in Barcelona where we could stay in their Mediterranean Villa and explore the architecture and culture of Barcelona.

-

[amazonify]B000LXHK2C&fc1:left:product:thpld-20:[/amazonify]

8. A Good Year

Provence, France

Russel Crowe may be looking a little frumpy and I am not a fan of his wardrobe in the movie, but A Good Year made me want to go to Provence and live a simple life on a Multi Million Dollar Vineyard estate.  That’s reasonable right? A Good Year makes life in Provence look like the garden of Eden and I want a piece of it.  Everyone is beautiful, everyone is a wine connoisseur and everyone is pure and good. Who wouldn’t want to go to the south of France after seeing a good year?

When I started this post, I literally had 50 movies on it I then scaled it down to 10 and decided on eight, because Eight Great sounded so good. Wondering what the honorable mentions were besides the ones listed in the opening paragraph? I am not going to tell you because they didn’t make the grade.

You are just going to have to tell me your favorite travel movies and we will compare notes.