I really enjoyed the topics on people's favourite travel
books and was curious to know people's favourite
travel-inspired films.
Latcho Drom (I think it means 'safe journey' and documents
the musical traditions of the Rom people in many
countries) is wonderful--when I saw it I had just returned
home after a year in India and the scene of the wedding in
Rajasthan made me cry for wanting to be there...
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the temple of doom always gets me going.
Whenever I'm travelling and feel kindof insecure or bored, I
hum the theme. It makes walking through any place an
adventure. (I also often start commenting on my own
adventures in a kindof TV documentary voice(like:'just made
first contact with the natives, ...blabla'))
although maybe, now I think about it, thats not very normal?
Kundun was a wonderfully done movie about the Dalai Lama.
The cinematography was just beautiful, as well as being very
educational. Also I loved Mustang:A lost Kingdom about a
region in Nepal that had been shut off from the world until
1993. Isn't it wonderful to watch a movie and get completely
lost in being there!!
Both Latcho Drom & Kundun were excellent. What impressed me
about Latcho Drom was how he made a film with virtually no
dialogue but managed to speak volumes about people. With
Kundun the cinematography was beautiful but, what blew me
away was the acting.
I'd also vote for "Beyond Rangoon" & "Out of Africa".
is my favourite travel film, a must see on the big screen.
I 've also enjoyed Latcho Drom. I just saw it this past
summer at a music festival and they also showing two
followup films to Latcho Drom (sorry I don't know the
titles)by the same director.
I just saw a movie called "Windhorse" this weekend which
was absolutely incredible. It's the only movie about Tibet
that I've seen that really captures the feeling of being in
Tibet. Alot of the street scenes were filmed 'undercover',
by people posing as tourists. Amazing footage of the
Barkhor and Jokhang. I can't recommend it highly enough.
This movie makes me want to travel like no other. I've
never been to that part of the world but the cinematography
is just gorgeous. I don't know a lot about the actual
history involved, but I think the movie tries to play both
sides fair.
"Cold Fever" - an Icelandic film about a Japanese man whose
parents are killed while living in Iceland. He has to go
there to perform a death ritual. The movie is hilarious,
and it makes me really want to visit the country.
Personally, I like all "foreign" movies because you get to
see how people dress, move, eat, live, accommodation, etc.
I find it interesting to see how other countries portray
themselves.
"Why has the Bodhi Dharma Left for the East?". A Korean
film. Unbelievable. Took 7 years to film. I saw it twice
5 years ago and am still in awe and speechless.
Just wanted to thank everyone for your reccomendations, I
can't wait to see them!
Also if anyone has favourite films that aren't necessarily
travel related but are just good in general I'd be
interested in hearing about those too.
Liz:
I'd also recommend "The Year of Living Dangerously", "Il
Postino", "The Killing Fields" and "Before the Rain"
(UK-Macedonian film nominated for best foreign language
Oscar about 2-4 years ago). All are set far afield and give
you that great yearning to go visit the places they are set
in! Also, for the greatest wandering spirit watch "Shirley
Valentine" - great for the middle-aged tied-down unhappy
woman inside all of us...
Happy viewing!
"Welcome to Sarajevo" is a very interesting film. About
reporters in Sarajevo trying to cover the story and deal
with the realities of doing so. Great food for thought.
I also loved The Sheltering Sky. The English Patient and
Out of Africa, too.
I would say my most inspirational flicks are (not in any
order):
1 I saw this wonderful Vietnamese film called "The Scent of
Green Papaya". It's one of those films in which very little
"happens" but stays with you for ages. I also loved
"Farewell My Concubine", but not half as much as I adored
the book. "The Last Emperor" is also beautifully shot and
John Lone is such a love!
2. I also really like "The Killing Fields" but it's just so
tragic, esp when you think of what happened to the lead
actor.
3. One film which I liked (I know it gets a lot of
slagging) but which I would hardly call inspirational!) is
"Midnight Express": still, it hasen't put me off wanting to
go to Turkey!.
4. Last but by no means least - I'm surprised noone has
mentioned "Thelma and Louise": OK, we all know the ending is
a bit disappointing to say the least but what hot-blooded
chick can say it hasn't inspired her? (Answers on an e-mail
please!)
what happened to the lead actor in the killing fields?
When I said the lead actor in the Killing Fields I meant
Haing S. Ngor, who also wrote a book about his life in
Cambodia. His story is almost unbelievably tragic, and
though I'm not sure about the details, it goes pretty much
like this: having escaped Cambodia after horrendous
treatment by the Khmer Rouge (being a doctor, therefore a
despised "intellectual" he was held prisoner and watched his
beloved wife die, in childbirth, I think), Ngor went to
America and became involved in the cause of publicising his
country's plight, eventually winning an Oscar for his part
in the Killing Fields. One evening in LA, after giving a
talk about the situation in Cambodia, Ngor went to go back
to his car. He was approached by some thugs who demanded
the locket he was carrying - it belonged to his dead wife.
Being the type of man he was, he refused to give it to them.
You can imagine what happened next: I'm not sure whether he
was stabbed or shot, but in any case, they killed him. As I
said, it's unbearably tragic: to think that a man who had
survived the brutatality and horror of the Khmer Rouge
should die at the hands of a few yobs looking for something
which meant nothing to them but everything to him.
What can I say?
I just saw two good movies that fit this category.
"Central Station"--a Brazilian movie. About a not very
likeable woman who ends up trying to help this boy find is
father. They travel with no money, hitchhiking, taking the
bus, etc. Just out, I believe.
Also, I just watched "Fire"--an Indian movie and, as I
understand it, so controversial that some movie theatres
were destroyed. Very nice and very well done--about two
women who fall in love.