A cinematic journey around the world

On Saturday 2nd September, hundreds of cinemas across the UK are coming together for National Cinema Day. Although I’m not currently in the UK, I would like to take this opportunity and embark on a cinematic journey around the world. I will discuss 10 films which have travelling at their core and take place in exotic countries that I would like to visit (either for the first time or visit again). I’m starting this cinematic journey around the world from Greece, the country where I was born and I’m currently in.

Triangle of Sadness – Greece

Triangle of Sadness is one of the most recent films in this list. It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022, where it won the Palme d’Or. I watched it several months later in an Athenian open-air cinema, against the backdrop of the Acropolis. It is a black comedy written and directed by the Swedish Ruben Östlund. In fact, it is his English-language feature film debut. A celebrity model couple is invited on a luxury cruise in the Aegean. The cruise ends catastrophically, when the yacht sinks.

Eat Pray Love – Italy/India/Indonesia (Bali)

Based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir of the same name, Eat Pray Love was directed by Ryan Murphy. It stars Julia Roberts as a recently-divorced American woman who embarks on a journey around the world, a journey that becomes a quest for self-discovery. At first, she spends four months in Italy, where she enjoys the country’s delicious food. She then departs for India, where she stays in an ashram. Finally, she visits Bali, where she falls in love with a Brazilian man.

The Beach – Thailand

The beach is another film in this list based on a book, Alex Garland’s novel of the same name. It was filmed on the Thai island of Ko Phi Phi Le. Directed by Danny Boyle, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, as a young tourist in Thailand. Whilst in Bangkok, he learns about a secret beach on an island in the Gulf of Thailand. Together with a French couple, they make their way to the beach, where they meet an international community of travellers who have settled there. They will soon discover that this is far from a heaven on earth.

Return to Seoul – Korea

We now continue our cinematic journey around the world to the neighbouring Cambodia and from there to South Korea. Written and directed by the Cambodian-French Davy Chou, Return to Seoul was selected as the Cambodian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. The film is actually an international co-production between France, Germany, Belgium, Qatar and Cambodia. It tells the story of a young woman who was born in Korea, but was then adopted and raised in France, and now travels to South Korea seeking her biological parents.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles – Japan

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is one of my favourite Japanese books. It is a beautifully written story about a man and his cat who travel together around Japan. While the protagonist visits friends and family in search of a new home for his beloved cat, he also re-visits his past. A film adaptation was released in 2018 directed by Kôichirô Miki. I watched it earlier this year on YouTube (with English subtitles).

Babel – Morocco/Mexico/USA/Japan

Directed by the Mexican Alejandro González Iñárritu, Bale portrays three interwoven stories taking place in Morocco, Japan, Mexico and the USA. An American woman (played by Cate Blanchett), travelling to Morocco with her husband (played by Brad Pitt), gets accidentally shot by a local teenager. Meanwhile, their children’s Mexican nanny needs to go to her son’s wedding in Mexico and takes the two children with her. At the same time, the film follows a day in the life of another horny teenager, this time in Japan. It turns out that it was her father who was the original owner of the rifle involved in the shooting in Morocco.

The Man Who Knew Too Much – Morocco

There are actually two versions of this Alfred Hitchcock classic. The 1934 British version takes place in Switzerland, whereas the 1956 American remake takes place in Morocco. In the latter, an American couple (played by James Stewart and Doris Day) and their son are on holidays in Morocco. When their son gets kidnapped, they travel to London to find him.

Death on the Nile – Egypt

Like The Man Who Knew Too Much, there are also two versions of Death on the Nile. Unsurprisingly, both take place in Egypt. The 2022 version was directed by Kenneth Branagh, who plays the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The 1978 version was directed by John Guillermin and stars Peter Ustinov as Poirot. Needless to say that Death on the Nile is based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie.

A sequel, titled A Haunting in Venice, an adaptation of Hallowe’en Party, is scheduled to be released on September 15, with Kenneth Branagh once again directing and starring as Poirot.

Let’s go to Venice anyway…

The Tourist – Italy (Venice)

The Tourist (not to be confused with the mini-series of the same name that takes place in Australia) is an American film directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who described it as “a travel romance with thriller elements”. It is actually a remake of the French film Anthony Zimmer. Angelina Jolie plays a British woman who is being followed through downtown Paris by the French police and (remotely) by Scotland Yard. She then boards a train to Venice, where she meets an American tourist (played by Johnny Depp). Whilst in the iconic Italian city, the couple are being chased by a British gangster, whose money had been stolen by the heroine’s ex-boyfriend.

Book Club: The Next Chapter – Italy

We will now conclude our cinematic journey around the world, but will remain in Italy. The sequel to 2018’s Book Club (also directed by Bill Holderman) happens to be the most recent film in this list. In The Next Chapter, the four friends travel to Italy in a bachelorette trip. Starting from Rome, they take a train to Venice (where they have their luggage stolen), and finally drive to Tuscany, where a surprise wedding takes place.

Further reading

If you have enjoyed this cinematic journey around the world, check out my other cinematic journeys: around Europe, to France, to the Nordic Countries and to South Korea.

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)