Movies to Inspire Travel
Author: Ryan Murdock

Movies shape how we see the world. Movies also shape the
world we expect to see when we go out into it. Few things
inspire us to travel like a well chosen backdrop. It paints
romantic visions in our heads, visions that often linger
for years.

Sometimes the reality of a place matches or exceeds our
vision, and sometimes it falters. In the end, anything that
inspires us to travel, to break the bonds of the everyday,
is a force for positive change.

Here are a few films, old and new, that have inspired me to
travel or that kept me sane between journeys. I hope they
do the same for you.

The Mosquito Coast (1986) - Based on the bestselling novel
by Paul Theroux. Disgruntled inventor Harrison Ford takes
his family to the jungles of Central America to found a
town and goes insane in the process. Filmed in the lush,
steamy jungles of southern Belize, the film and the book
inspired me to travel to Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast back in
2000.

The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003) - The most accurate
film I've ever seen on Mongolia's south Gobi region. Apart
from a few minor scenes, the film was shot by following the
day to day lives of a family of nomads. As luck would have
it, the filmmakers arrived during the camel birthing
season. A natural drama ensued when a mother camel rejected
its calf, endangering the life of the newborn creature. The
reconciliation between the two camels, brought about by a
traditional shamanic ceremony, is one of the most moving
scenes ever set to film.

The Tempest (1982) - A little-known film by John
Cassavettes, starring a very young Molly Ringwald, Susan
Sarandon, and Raul Julia. The Tempest is a loose adaptation
of Shakespeare's play, filmed on a stunning Greek island in
the Ionian Sea. I first saw this back when cable TV was
new, during a free weekend preview of the movie channel. It
had me dreaming Mediterranean dreams long before I was old
enough to know where the Mediterranean was.

Mountains of the Moon (1990) - Based on the life of Captain
Sir Richard Francis Burton. Burton spoke some 29 languages
and dialects, was a prolific writer and translator, and one
of the greatest explorers and travelers of all time. He was
the first European to enter the Ethiopian city of Harare,
was co-discoverer of the source of the Nile, and was one of
the few foreigners ever to make the pilgrimage to Mecca in
disguise. Burton was also a master of the sword. On one
expedition he fought off an attack by Somali tribesman that
saw him wounded through the mouth by a spear, the scars of
which are visible in all his later photographs. Whenever I
begin to feel like I've accomplished something, Burton's
example puts me to shame.

Before Sunrise / Before Sunset (1995/2004) - The
quintessential traveler's films, Before Sunrise and its
sequel Before Sunset perfectly capture the feeling of the
all-consuming road romance. They go further in considering
what would happen if we said 'yes' instead of 'no' at that
one crucial juncture that could change the course of our
lives. Set in Vienna and Paris (respectively), both films
are steeped in Old Europe's streets, and they capture those
rambling traveler's conversations better than any other
film I know.

Summer Lovers (1982) - Every guy's Mediterranean dream - a
summer-long threesome on a beautiful Greek island. It's a
film about freedom, individualism, charting your own course
and creating your own personal morality. It explores what
it's like to completely let go of the preconceived,
immersing yourself totally in the present. Stunning scenery
and an absence of tan lines make this classic a winner.

High Road to China (1983) - A little known and vastly
underrated film by Tom Selleck. This film captures the
spirit of high adventure and stubborn independence, and
includes jaw-drop footage of Central Asia and the
Himalayas. Plus, it's got biplanes in it. Who wouldn't want
to rip around the world in one of those?

The Lover (1992) - Lush scenery of French colonial era
Vietnam circa 1929: crumbling moss-eaten architecture,
exotic street scenes, slow lazy ceiling fans, and lines of
afternoon light casting rectangles of shadow through
slatted wooden blinds. The film reminds us that sometimes
those blinds also conceal illicit pleasures. You can almost
feel the heat and humidity steam through the lens. And the
heat between the main characters doesn't hurt either... The
Lover perfectly captures the feeling of old Hanoi.

The Dreamers (2003) - A shocking coming of age story set in
Paris in the turbulent summer of 1968. A young American
exchange student goes to the decadent City of Lights to
study French, where he falls into a bizarre love triangle
with a brother and sister and is drawn into their strange,
sheltered world. Though controversial when it was released,
the film is oddly enchanting rather than lewd, and it
conveys a vivid sense of what Paris must have felt like
during that turbulent summer of riots when social norms
were shattered.

Lost in Translation (2003) - This film portrays the
dazzling disorientation of Tokyo and the loneliness and
exhaustion of culture shock better than any I've ever seen.
It reminded me of the many times I've been cast adrift on a
hostile shore, and it brought back so many vivid memories
of everything that's surreal about Tokyo, where.

The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) - Based on the posthumously
published diary of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, the film
chronicles his coming of age journey through South America.
Shot on location in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. I
read the original book of Guevara's travel journals years
ago, and feared the film would be an overblown
foreshadowing of the world figure he would later become.
That wasn't the case. The movie stayed true to the road
trip lark of the book, complete with the sort of South
American scenery that'll have you lacing up your hiking
boots before the credits begin to roll.

The English Patient (1996) - Romance and archaeology in the
Sahara desert in an age when high adventure was still a
possibility, and when parts of the globe remained
undiscovered. The film contains stunning desert footage,
and was based on the real-life search for the lost city of
Zezura. Yes, it's a bit of a chick flick, but if you love
the desert you only have to switch off the sound and feast
on the imagery.

So that's it. Twelve picks to inspire wanderlust and
Vagabond Dreams.

What are your special travel films? I'd love to hear about
them.


About the Author:

Ryan Murdock's pursuit of travel literature has taken him
to some of the world's most unforgiving places, including
Mongolia, Tibet, Nicaragua, and North Korea, by Russian
jeep, motorcycle, dugout canoe, horse and camel. Please
visit http://www.ryanmurdock.com to learn more about his
adventures and to follow his Road Wisdom blog.