Films Of Travel, For Travel, By Hollywood

Hollywood has taught us many things. Some stupid like that quintessential phone call, in god knows how many movies, invariably made to “Mr. President sir!” Or that the aliens always attack America and have that one stupid weakness that becomes their doom.  On the other hand, it has also taught us about the horror of wars and the sweetness of love. Say what may, but LA tinsel town has also never failed us in imparting useful life lessons through what we love most – TRAVEL!

Discover Yourself – Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

This list will be incomplete without mentioning Alfonso Cuarón’s deeply metaphorical movie Gravity. A complete cinematic treat, it wows us with its analogy of space travel and re-birth. As the lone astronaut away from earth, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is drifting towards a void until calamity strikes. Forced to take a stock of the situation, she undergoes struggles that help her gain knowledge about herself. She is born all over again. Cuarón creates a masterpiece using symbols like the journey, fetal position, umbilical cord and amniotic fluid that with the protagonist, you too are reborn! If I could, I would totally run off to space and eat one of them dark chocolates in space …quite an experience, no?

Make Most Of The Journey

The posters of Ridley Scott’s 1991 flick Thelma & Louise carried a tagline: Somebody said get a life…so they did. In an all-girl road trip, a housewife Thelma (Geena Davis) and her waitress friend Louise (Susan Sarandon) take off in a ’66 Thunderbird to go through experiences both bad and worse. Yet, these bold ladies come out freed at the end of their journey! No, they don’t say where they are off too except for a bleak mention of Mexico. That tells us ample how the journey is more important than the destination!

Be Close To Nature

Only someone with the sensibilities of Sean Penn could have come up with a gem like Into the Wild, based on a true story. Top student and athlete Christopher McCandless played by Emile Hirsch decides to take the road less travelled after graduation. He does away with his possessions, donates his savings of $24,000 and hitchhikes all the way to Alaska learning from interactions en route. His pilgrimage into the wilderness teaches one to travel more to experience life and nature without worrying about the material strappings of the society we live in today. Remember: Very little is needed to make a happy life.

Connect With People – Make Friends For Life

Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation is a complicated reflection of an equally complicated human existence. At surface level, it explores the themes of loneliness and culture shock when travelling to a new destination. Bill Murray (as himself) and Scarlett Johansson (as Charlotte) bump in to each other at a bar. An instant friendship is established. Casual remarks give insights in to the problems and issues each is facing in life. Suddenly, the burden is lightened and the world seems like a better place. So, don’t be afraid to let that guard down. You never know you may end up making new relationships that last a lifetime!

Believe In The Power Of Storytelling

Yann Martel couldn’t have imagined a more grand canvas for his Life of Pi than the one Ang Lee gave to the world. For most, this rousing adventure and meta-tale of survival explores faith and God. But there are some who look at it as an affirmation of the redemptive power of storytelling. Piscine Patel survives loss, a life-threatening ordeal and a prolonged journey in the middle of nowhere, just because he has a vivid imagination. What’s even more important is that he makes it a point to tell his story. One should too. This is my list of Hollywood flicks that inspired me to take the road. What’s yours?