Summertime is vacation time. I’m on vacation right now. Maybe you are, too. Or maybe you just wish you were.
Alas, most of us cannot take the whole summer off. Nor would we have the wherewithal to travel extensively even if we could. As such, we sometimes must vacation vicariously through our movies … updating our bucket lists and fantasizing about where we might go if we could.
What follows is a list of some movie that make me want to travel. It’s a short list, but hey. I’m on vacation.
The Hundred-Foot Journey: I’m not much of a foodie, but this film almost made me one. The movie is set in rural France, wherein a hoity-toity French restaurant, run by the exacting Madame Mallory, finds itself in an unexpected competition with an upstart Indian eatery right next door. The film’s atmosphere makes me want to traipse through the French countryside in search of quirky eateries.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Not many folks probably get to Iceland during their lifetimes. This under-rated movie suggests it’s well worth the plane ticket–and, if you’re like Mr. Mitty, the risks. The scenery is incredible, even if not many of us would be able to see it while riding a skateboard, but hey. We can’t have everything.
Dr. Zhivago: I saw this movie in July during a heat wave, hanging out in a friend’s sauna of a house. Watching the scenes in Siberia, wherein a northern mansion was coated in ice and snow, was as good as air conditioning. Never has being so cold looked so cool.
From Russia With Love: Istanbul (not Constantinople) is one of my top three places I’d like to visit before I die, and while my love of the place has a lot to do with its history, religious influences and architecture, I think my fascination with Istanbul began with this movie. I do think I’d skip the Gypsy cat fight, though.
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