Movies about tourism, hiking, travel: a list of the best

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Movies about tourism can already be considered a separate subgenre of cinema. Regardless of whether climbing, hiking or rafting is shown in the vein of comedy, drama or thriller, the viewer is always captivated by the beauty of the landscapes, the spirit of adventure and the courage of the main characters. Check out the best films about tourism and travel in the list below.

127 hours

Opens the list of the 2010 movie "127 Hours", based on a true story. Canyon explorer Aron Ralston thought he was communicating with nature "on you". However, in 2003, his journey into a mountain crevice almost ended in tragedy - due to a failure during the descent, the climber's hand was crushed by a 300-kilogram stone. Ralston had no means of communication, and the supply of water and food was limited. After 127 hours, the provisions ran out, and Aaron amputated his arm, which allowed him to get out and ask for help.

The role of the brave climber was brilliantly played by James Franco,for which he was nominated for an Oscar as best actor. The film, which details the true story of Aron Ralston, was highly acclaimed by critics, and on the Rotten Tomatoes website it has a very high positive rating - as much as 93%. The film was directed by Danny Boyle, best known for Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire. Aron Ralston himself also took part in the filming, advising Franco and Boyle at all stages of work.

K2: Altitude Limit

Those who are interested in films about mountain tourism should not ignore the 1991 cult movie "K2: The Ultimate Height". This is not only one of the best pictures on the subject, but also one of the most outstanding, according to some critics, relating to the early 90s in general.

The plot tells about two friends who differ in literally everything except one: a passion for mountaineering. For more than 10 years they have worked together, conquering peak after peak, and now, by chance, they were in the team of an eccentric billionaire to climb Chogori (another name for K2) - the second largest terrestrial peak in the world.

Starring Michael Biehn and Matt Craven, directed by Frank Roddam. Special attention in the "Ultimate Height" deserves the soundtrack (by the way, made in two versions - orchestral and rock music). The composer was Hans Zimmer.

Train to Darjeeling

Not all films about tourism involve overcoming, superhuman efforts and struggle with nature. The clearest confirmation of this is the movie of the amazing director Wes Anderson, filmed in 2007. Here the journey acts only as a background and a pretext for a philosophical look at the life of the main characters, which, as it seems to them, has reached a dead end. But do not think that the viewer will be left without adventures and beautiful views - India appears on the screen in its most beautiful images, and not only natural, but also mental, psychological and symbolic. Of course, Anderson's talent for showing absolutely everything beautiful and bright did not stand aside. And a large number of subtle humor and touching scenes will definitely bring great pleasure from viewing this picture.

Starring Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman.

Fatal route

Let's move on to travel stories that can tickle the nerves of even the most sophisticated viewers - the 2014 film "Fatal Route" is just one of them. The fact that it is based on real events adds a special highlight to the picture.

A young couple of inexperienced hikers decide to go hiking in the wild remote places, but suddenly they find themselves trapped in the territory of a huge black bear. Now the journey no longer seems to them a pleasure trip, and life turns into a deadly struggle with nature. Especially impressionable people, this film is better notto watch, as well as to small children, because sometimes, with its realism, the "Fatal Route" resembles a documentary.

The tape was the directorial debut for the fairly popular Canadian actor Adam McDonald, starring Missy Peregrym and Jeff Rupp.

Sanctum

Sports tourism and scientific exploration films rarely go hand in hand, but it's this combination of caving and sport mountaineering that helped create the suspenseful 2010 thriller "Sanctum" about a journey deep into a cave, not a simple one, but the largest on Earth.

As in the film "Fatal Route", the presence of non-professional travelers in the team, who overestimated their strength and were forced to adapt to the conditions already during the catastrophe, literally surviving, adds a special intrigue to the movie.

Sanctum was directed by the obscure Alistair Grierson, but it was James Cameron who was the producer. Although he did not direct the main production process, the audience saw the influence of the famous cinematographer, in particular, the use of the same visual techniques as in Cameron's Avatar. Starring Ioan Griffith, Richard Roxburgh, Reese Wakefield and Alice Parkinson.

Wild River

Have you seen this movie? But the best feature film about river rafting, withoutno doubt, this picture can be called 1994. It has not only an interesting plot, beautiful views and turbulent streams, but also a great cast with the inimitable Meryl Streep at the head.

Gail and Tom were never professional rafters, but they decided that navigating the river would help them save their fraying marriage. Together with their son and dog, they go on a tourist trip, which has prepared for them much more extreme sports than they could imagine. The family was held hostage by two runaway robbers, who at first pretended to be the same simple tourists. Gale and Tom had to work very hard to protect their son and each other from lawbreakers and wild nature raging around.

In addition to Meryl Streep as Gail, the main characters were played by Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn and John C. Reilly. Directed by Curtis Hanson, best known for 8 Mile and LA Confidential.

Kidnapped

You can't ignore this movie. "Kidnapped" - a film of 2011, the original title of which "A Secluded Place for Death" was decided to be replaced in the Russian box office, so as not to injure the psyche of the audience in advance. And not without reason, because this picture can pretty tickle your nerves.

The plot revolves around a group of climbers who discover a Slavic girl buried alive in the Scottish mountains. They rescue her and try to get her into townhowever, on their way there are terrible, deadly obstacles set up by unknown people.

The film "Kidnapped" in 2011 was shot by a little-known director Julian Gilbey, did not have a star cast. However, this was rather a plus for the picture, since the absence of familiar faces and the director's fresh look allowed the audience to see a non-standard story with frames reminiscent of a documentary film. It has a positive rating of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Mystery of the Dyatlov Pass

A lot of people know about this movie. Although there are many documentaries about the Dyatlov Pass, this only feature film was filmed in 2013. And, what is most interesting, in the joint production of Russia, Great Britain and the USA. Directed by Renny Harlin, The Mystery of Dyatlov Pass was billed as a horror and thriller at the box office.

The plot revolves around a group of American students who decided to come to the Urals and go through the places of Igor Dyatlov's expedition, which ended in tragedy in 1959. The pseudo-documentary film portrays the cause of the death of the Dyatlov group as a result of secret experiments on time travel. After finding a strange Soviet-era bunker with high levels of radiation inside, some students are killed by humanoid mutants, while others are transported to 1959.

Despite the fact that the opinions of critics about the film "The Secret of the Dyatlov Pass" were significantly divided, the audience generally found the picture interesting,fascinating, and most importantly filled with views of the beautiful Northern Urals.

Dyatlov Pass. Discharged on the occasion of death

But among the documentaries about the tragedy of 1959, of which a great many have been shot, many consider the production of Vera Snegireva, the documentary filmmaker of Channel One, to be the most interesting. The main advantages are a huge number of archival footage, memoirs of the relatives of the deceased freight forwarders and authoritative researchers.

Also a nice feature of the film is the absence of mythological versions of the death of the group associated with Bigfoot, aliens and other supernatural causes. The main attention is paid to versions related to natural factors, as well as the possible implementation of a secret weapon nearby or even over the tourists themselves, who were captured in the forbidden territory.

The Great Northern Route

One of the newest tourism documentaries that everyone should see is The Great Northern Trek, which premiered in February 2019. The author and director was Leonid Kruglov, a famous Russian photographer and traveler.

For his plot, he decided to go on a trip to the Arctic, but not just like that, but following the route of the 17th century pioneer Semyon Dezhnev, namely from Arkhangelsk to the Bering Strait. On dog and reindeer sleds, riding reindeer, swimming in boats andKruglov and his film crew covered more than ten thousand kilometers by paragliding, thanks to which now all viewers and travel lovers will be able to see the Great Northern Route on the screens and, perhaps, get closer to the events that took place four centuries ago and forever changed the history of Russia and the world.

Beach

Another outstanding tourism film from the talented director of the aforementioned Danny Boyle. The Beach was released in 2000 and is most interesting as one of the best films starring a young Leonardo DiCaprio. The plot tells about a young guy named Richard, who travels the world in search of thrills. For him, there are no things that he would refuse to try or experience for himself, and when his new random friends offer to go to the mysterious island near Thailand, which is an "earthly paradise", Richard agrees without a doubt, embarking on a dangerous and adventurous journey.

On the island, travelers discover a commune whose inhabitants, at first glance, live in an absolute utopia, and therefore they are fascinated by this artificial society and decide to stay forever. But soon the commune's pressing and social problems surface, and armed Thai criminals guarding an illegal cannabis plantation nearby only add tension to a life that until recently seemed carefree.

In addition to DiCaprio, the main roles in the film were played by Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet and RobertCarlisle.

Butterfly

If you are already tired of thrillers and horror movies among the films about hiking, and want to see a beautiful, kind story against the backdrop of beautiful nature, the French movie of 2002 "Butterfly" is exactly what you need.

At the center of the story are dissimilar neighbors: a little girl Elsa and an elderly grouchy butterfly collector Julien. Elsa's mother practically does not pay attention to her daughter, and therefore one day she decides to quietly follow Julien on his next expedition for a rare specimen. The path of the collector and his secret companion lies through the Alpine foothills, and therefore the forest and mountain hikes in the film about the unexpected friendship of two different people fill most of the screen time. All lovers of subtle philosophy of life, sincere direct humor and beautiful views of French nature will enjoy the cinema.

The film was directed by Philippe Muil and starred Michel Cerro and Claire Buanish.

In the wild

Sean Penn made the film "Into the Wild" in 2007, which finally established himself as a talented director, and not just an actor. This picture is based on real events from the life of Christopher McCandless, who in 1990 decided to donate everything he had to charity and went traveling under the pseudonym Alexander Supertramp. These were the last two years of Christopher's life, sincehaving walked almost all the States and Mexico, he decided to live in Alaska in an old bus. There he died of exhaustion at the age of 24.

The cinema prepares for its viewer not only a lot of beautiful views and real stories about overcoming oneself, but also a very beautiful, touching philosophical line about the essence of human existence.

Into the Wild was nominated for multiple awards in 2007, including two Oscars. However, he only won the Golden Globe for Best Song and the Critics Council Award for Breakthrough of the Year and Top 10. It stars Emile Hirsch and stars Hal Holbrook, William Hurt, Kristen Stewart and Vince Vaughn.

The geographer drank his globe away

It is impossible not to note the game of Konstantin Khabensky. The Russian film "The Geographer Drank His Globe Away" in 2013 received a large number of domestic prizes and awards in the field of cinematography. It tells about the life of a 37-year-old biologist from the Research Institute Viktor Sluzhkin, whose life imperceptibly came to a crisis, as a result of which he was left without a job, lost his wife and was forced to get a job as a geography teacher at school. Adventures begin when the unfortunate teacher Sluzhkin, who is prone to alcoholism, decides to go camping with schoolchildren. On the way, children and teachers will face many difficulties - funny, dangerous and even frightening. Despite the successful outcome of the hike, after returning home, Sluzhkin is fired from school for the risk thathe subjected the underage wards.

Konstantin Khabensky played the main role in the film "The Geographer Drank His Globe Away" in 2013, Alexander Veledinsky was invited as a director by producer Valery Todorovsky.

Eat, pray, love

Finishing the list of the best films about tourism is the 2010 melodrama Eat Pray Love, based on the book of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert, based on a true story.

The picture shows a turning point in the life of Elizabeth, who decides to change herself and goes on a journey. After living for some time in Italy, she understands the similarity between the taste for food and the taste for life, in India she strengthens her spirituality, understanding what it means to truly pray, and at the end of her journey she goes to Indonesia, where she finds love and finds final harmony. Beautiful location shots were taken in Naples, Pataudi and Bali.

The film was directed by Ryan Murphy and starring famous actress Julia Roberts. In addition to her, "Eat Pray Love" starred James Franco, Javier Bardem, Viola Davis, Sophie Thompson and Billy Crudup.