Movies to watch while you wait out COVID-19
As many people start to self-isolate and hunker down at home to stop the spread of COVID-19, many travel plans have also had to be put on hold. Luckily, according to a psychological study in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life about the connection between anticipation and happiness, just planning or anticipating your trip can make you happier than actually taking it. So rather than get caught up in all of the doom and gloom that is dominating the media, let’s make the most of the opportunity to increase our happiness.
We’ve compiled a list of movies that will have you dreaming about your next destination until all of this uncertainty settles and your travel dates get reconfirmed. And if you haven’t had to cancel any vacation plans, maybe these movies will inspire you to make some when the time is right. In the meantime, wash your hands, make some popcorn and start looking forward to your next trip.
Italy
La Dolce Vita, 1960
A series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering paparazzo journalist living in Rome.
The Italian Job, 1969
Comic caper movie about a plan to steal a gold shipment from the streets of Turin by creating a traffic jam.
United Kingdom
The King’s Speech
The story of King George VI, his impromptu ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.
Braveheart
When his secret bride is executed for assaulting an English soldier who tried to rape her, William Wallace begins a revolt against King Edward I of England.
France
Moulin Rouge
A poet falls for a beautiful courtesan whom a jealous duke covets.
Midnight in Paris
While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée’s family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.
Amélie
Amélie is an innocent and naive girl in Paris with her own sense of justice. She decides to help those around her and, along the way, discovers love.
Hungary
The Grand Budapest Hotel
A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel’s glorious years under an exceptional concierge.
Spain
Vicky Christina Barcelona
Two friends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamoured with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
Morocco
Casablanca
A cynical American expatriate struggles to decide whether or not he should help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape French Morocco.
Greece
Gladiator
A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
New York (United States)
Sex and the City
Four female New Yorkers gossip about their sex lives (or lack thereof) and find new ways to deal with being a woman in the 1990s.
Annie Hall
Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditzy Annie Hall.
Hawaii (United States)
The Descendants
A land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.
Uganda
The Last King of Scotland
Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin‘s regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s.
Queen of Katwe
A Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.
Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda
Paul Rusesabagina was a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda.
Kenya
Out of Africa
In 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.
India
Slumdog Millionaire
A Mumbai teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than advertised, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.
