Films with A View

 
Let me make myself clear. The films I have gathered here aren’t just beautiful to look at, ready to take you away and maybe to make you want to pack your bags and take a holiday – although summer is almost here and who can deny the wander lust that is starting to hold onto us? Rather, these are great movies which happen to have some feel-good escapism seemlessly woven into the story. Most of them don’t even come close to having a final reel that sets your heart aglow. And, yet, they capture the spirit and celebrate the beauty and even the culture of the places they are set in in a way meant to transport you there; places which often act like main characters themselves. This, however, is not a definitive list. If I were to make it again in the future, I would probably add other titles to it, too. These are simply the first ones I could think of when I recently stayed up half of the night.

Note: this compilation does also not include a number of films I consider some my all time favourite classic summer movies (from Plein Soleil and Bonjour Tristesse, to Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Summertime), many of which could easily find a spot here. But as I didn’t want to be repetitive, I left them out, but you can read about them here.

The entire atmosphere in Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) drew me in completely. It was filmed in Detroit and Tangier, and although both places work extremely well for the plot, it is Tangier that makes everything otherworldly and overwhelming (and the music makes it even harder to resist it). In Jim Jarmusch’s own words, “I love to travel. I love to get lost in a city and try to find my way back. I’ve seen so many amazing things just doing that. Just little details of life. Tangier’s a place where, unlike Marrakech, the old world and new world are not separated by a gulf as though looking at each other. It’s all mixed.” And I just have to ask: Could this be cinema’s last love story? I am, of course, referring to Adam and Eve (played by Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton). It is, at the very least, my favourite one in a long, long time.
 
 
I loved The Beach when it came out back in 2000. It really had an impact on me and the idyllic Thai location only played a secondary part. It was the idea that I found original and exciting: leaving on a trip in search of “something more beautiful, something more exciting, and something more dangerous”, and finding it, too. And I loved it for one more reason: Leonardo DiCaprio proved that, after Titanic (he made The Beach immediately after), he wouldn’t anchor himself to mainstream films. Instead, he went on to become the actor he is today.
 
 
Besides the fact that the storyline in Avanti! (1972) is so well underpinned by the superb scenery (Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi Coast), the film features one of my all time favourite supporting comedic characters, Carlo Carlucci, played by Clive Revill (I absolutely love observing the supporting cast, they glue the film together so many times) – the ever present and resourceful hotel manager, who, in fact, is the one who makes the movie and the reason I put the film in the player every once in a while.
 
 
With The Two Faces of January (2014), it was the underlying tension, along with the same thing that other two great adaptations of a Patricia Highsmith novel, Plein Soleil and The Talented Mr. Ripley, are guilty of – the beautifully built contrast between a sun-drenched backdrop and a dark plot – which sealed my interest in the story. And this one takes us to Greece, truly one of my favourite holiday destinations, be it Athens, an island or the coast line. I’ve been thinking about roaming the antiques markets in Athens ever since I saw the movie (and I am not even a fan of flea markets).
 
 
There are many things I love about The Birds (1963). It’s Hitchcock, and one of his best, and after watching it last summer with my brother he came up with one more theory, a very funny one that involves Rod Taylor as my ulterior motive (not true, but still so very funny), which he insisted on writing down as a piece of screenplay (he and my husband are even greater film buffs than me). It is for keeps, of course, and it has now inevitably become the first thing that comes to my mind about the film and it just cracks me up every time. But let’s not forget that the plot is set in San Francisco and a little fisherman’s town outside the city. So, not only does it take me to a city that has been holding a fascination over me for as long as I can remember, but Bodega Bay makes for the ideal weekend getaway. In other words, every time I watch the movie I want to make a habit out of leaving town every single weekend and go to a place just like that one, close by, but so remote at the same time.
 
 
You may find it absurd to try and pick just one James Bond movie for escapism reasons. I mean, the locations are just as impressive as 007’s stunts, and a quintessential part of the public’s fascination with the character. But I only have one favourite Bond movie, and that is Casino Royale (2006). And although the settings included the Bahamas, Lake Como and Prague, the Venice sequence is the reason I chose it for. The beauty of the city is even more haunting given the tragic ending of Bond and Vesper’s love story.
 
 
While the Villa Necchi Campiglio in the center of Milan, one of the locations of 2009’s Io sono l’amore (I Am Love), “shows the obsession with perfection and details that the Milanese bourgeoisie have,” as director Luca Guadagnino explained, the blooming Italian countryside and sunny San Remo are the exact opposite. A contrast that is in perfect accordance with the evolution of the main character, Emma Recchi (Tilda Swinton). I thought the ending was somewhat pretentious, but the gorgeous camera work is worth every shot.
 
 
The first thing I appreciated about The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) was that it is not a remake after Plein Soleil (1960), although based on the same book. This one, too, is a classic in its own right, and visually beguiling, thanks to the breathtaking scenery: Rome, Naples, Ischia, Positano, Venice, Sicily… Can it get better than that? Italy will always have my heart.
 
photos: film stills from: 1-Only Lovers Left Alive (Recorded Picture Company) / 2-The Beach (Figment Films) / 3-Avanti! (Jalem Productions/Mirisch Corporation) / 4-The Two Faces of January (Timnik Films/StudioCanal) / 5-The Birds (Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions) / 6-Casino Royale (Columbia Pictures/Eon Productions) / 7-Io sono amore (First Sun/Rai Cinema) / 8-The Talented Mr. Ripley (Miramax/Paramount Pictures)