Wild scenery and lit-up nights pull me out of my home office.
As does people-watching, and the adrenaline boost of things that are hard for me — like getting lost — and making myself understood in another culture and language.
Movies set in foreign backdrops can trigger that “need more” feeling.
I asked Matadorians what movies make them think of spinning out of their everyday lives for a minute.
I’m only 12 for 23 but, thanks to my colleagues, the other 11 are now on my short list.
7 Years in Tibet
One of several books by Austrian Heinrich Harrer about mountain climbing in extreme conditions, this book-made-into-a-movie tells the story of his seven years in Tibet, during its takeover by China.
It has some knife-sharp images of snowed-over mountains against a blue sky, but it mostly made me want to travel because for me it speaks to challenge and solitude, two themes that motivate me to get out, turn everything off, and just be.
Amélie
Amélie is a film set in Paris featuring a 23-year-old waitress who tries to spread joy to the people who surround her.
In my travels, it’s always been important to me to interact with people, from taking the time to listen to someone who really needs to talk to taking a heavy load from another passenger on the bus who isn’t fortunate enough to get a seat.
Baraka
Baraka is a movie with no dialogue, of images shot around the world of animals and humans interacting with the natural environment and the surroundings we’ve created.
It makes me want to open my eyes wider and take in the similarities around me, from how people advertise their wares to how those in the highlands protect themselves from the sun and wind.
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