If you’re like me, then I’m sure you’ve noticed that part of the fallout of our economic recession includes tighter budgets, more expensive airline tickets, and a downgrade of options and service in the travel industry. As someone who needs travel and adventure like I need oxygen, it’s all I can do to restrain myself from buying a ticket out of the country merely to escape the stress.
But, a more economically feasible option might be finding ways to escape without selling my car or trading in my 401(k). Movies have always been one of my favorite and least expensive escapes and these five will transport you to an exciting location beyond your living room couch and keep your wanderlust alive.
1. Dangerous Beauty
Who knew the plague and a war with Turkey could provide the backdrop for love? They can, if the drama unfolds in sixteenth century Venice and revolves around the forbidden love between a Spanish senator and a sought-after courtesan. This movie is based on the biography, The Honest Courtesan, by Margaret Rosenthal, about the life of Veronica Franco. Yes, there is a cheeseball factor that is prevalent in this movie; the heroine holds her breasts for a full five minutes while lecturing the Spanish Inquisition on the value of a woman’s sensuality and intelligence. They all wear corsets, recite poetry, toss flowers off bridges, drink wine, play various stringed instruments, throw lavish parties, and talk politics in lush gardens, while riding horses and having sex in gondolas—all in one day.
But … it’s Venice. Besides the lust and the occasional swordfight, Dangerous Beauty has gorgeous shots of the Basilica di San Marco, the Ca’ d’Oro, and the Rialto Bridge. There are also serene, almost magical images of the Odescalchi Castle of Santa Marinella. When I traveled to Venice, years after seeing this movie for the first time, I was astounded at how well it captured the luscious flavor of this city, where a person can tell time by the angle of the sun as it reflects on the Grand Canal and the fastest mode of transport is a water taxi. Venice was built for lovers, artists, and people who want to stroll rather than run.
Everyone needs to brave the maze of corridors that is Venice and take the time to ride a gondola, tour the Doge’s Palace, and eat gelato in Piazza San Marco. But if it’s not in your budget right now, let this movie take you there.
2. Into the Wild
My only request is that you read the book first, as John Krakauer does an extraordinary job telling the story of a conflicted Chris McCandless in a way that is honest, responsible, and compassionate. I felt haunted by the book and hoped the movie would accurately capture the spirit of this brave, ill-fated adventurer. I was not disappointed. The movie takes you from Georgia to California, across the Midwest, up to the Pacific Crest Trail, and down to the Colorado River and the Gulf of California following the journey of one young man’s quest to find personal freedom. Chris, as “Alexander Supertramp,” hitched through Montana, South Dakota, and national parks like Zion, Bryce, and Joshua Tree before finally landing in stunning Alaska and living out of a bus on the Stampede Trail in Denali National Park.
Having traveled to Alaska last summer, I can tell you that it really is that expansive—the skies, mountains, and rivers huge and untamed, the wilderness really that wild. My girlfriends and I trekked around the Kenai Peninsula, hiked in Homer, kayaked in Seward, and rafted in Talkeetna before backcountry camping in Denali State Park for three days (I would recommend the Ridge Trail in the state park with clear views of Mt. Denali over foraging your own path in the national park.) If you ever want to go on a soul-searching, heart-opening personal quest, I could not recommend Alaska more highly as an inspiring landscape. In the meantime, I guarantee this movie will awaken your sense of adventure.
