All four ways: inspiring films about traveling in Britain and beyond

“Patagonia.

A couple from Wales, Rhys and Gwen, live in Cardiff. He is a photographer and she works as a translator and dreams of a career as an actress, but participating in casting calls is not fruitful. Also, they can’t conceive a child. Eventually Rhys and Gwen decide to travel to Patagonia, the part of Argentina where Welsh immigrants went in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The parallel story unfolds of Keris, an elderly resident of Argentina, and her nephew, who make the journey in the opposite direction – to Wales. The heroes hit the road to recharge and get to know themselves better. The two stories intertwine, and Wales and Argentina turn out to have a lot in common. Coincidentally, the lead actor learned about the project during his trip to Patagonia with descendants of the first Welsh settlers, and it was there that director Mark Evans was looking for locations for filming.

“Black Mountain Poets.

Sisters Alice and Dolly are embroiled in a criminal case, so they urgently need to escape. They pose as avant-garde poets on a retreat where, among writers, they begin a new life away from civilization in the vastness of Wales. Shot in just five days, the movie is mostly improvised and is a mix of romcom and crime comedy. In the end, it turns out that hanging out with poets and poetry is much better than a weekend spent in jail. Starring comedian and actress Alice Lowe, known for “Black Mirror: Brandashmig,” and Dolly Wells, writer and actress of the British comedy series “Doll & Em.”

“Lay low in Bruges” (In Bruges).

Martin McDonagh’s directorial debut is about two maverick assassins – played by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson – and their trip to Bruges after failing an important assignment. Belgian life in a quiet town even the heroes like it, but then everything goes wrong again. Complete with the characters’ travels and aimless wandering around Bruges are Tarantino references, great dialogue, chases, and plenty of black humor. McDonagh’s tragicomedy was nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a British Academy Award, but failed to be recognized by American film academics. Instead, Colin Farrell took the Globe for Best Actor and the director took the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay.

“Marigold Hotel.” The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

The story centers on British retirees who come to India and are disappointed with a hyped hotel. The more travelers get to know each other, the more they enjoy this not-perfect but heartwarming journey. While some are exploring the Indian city, others are finding jobs and having affairs. Starring British stars Judi Dench, Bill Nye, and Dev Patel, known for Slumdog Millionaire. With a budget of ten million dollars, the picture managed to collect 13 times more, and then – to get a sequel. The second part is “Marigold Hotel.” ‘Settlement Continues’ is about the same characters who continue to live at the resort. However, for the new guests of the hotel everything turns out to be a shock: people who hate each other are put in the same room, and the inspector in the person of Richard Gere breaks the usual way of life of each of the guests.

“The Trip” (The Trip)

Two British comedians, Stephen Coogan and Rob Brydon, have released four road movies about their gastronomic travels through England, Italy, Spain and Greece. “The Trip” is the first movie of a tetralogy. The actors as themselves drive around the country and eat in restaurants, chatting about life and discussing local cuisine. As Stephen Coogan explains, their characters are exaggerated versions of themselves. As the story goes, it’s as if Coogan has received an invitation from The Observer newspaper to go on a gastrotour of the north of England. He takes his friend Rob Brydon as his partner.

In the “Italian” part, the characters taste the food in restaurants on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. While traveling in Spain, Coogan writes a book and Brydon writes reviews of local establishments. In the “Greek” part, released in 2020, the actors decide to repeat Odysseus’ journey and visit restaurants at the same time.

“Kon-Tiki.

The movie co-produced by Scandinavian countries, Great Britain and Germany tells about the explorer Thor Heyerdahl. In 1947, he managed to cross the Pacific Ocean – from South America to Polynesia – on a raft, and then recounted his incredible adventure in a book. Tour and his team had to battle the waters, sharks and whales to prove the theory that people from South America may have settled the islands of Polynesia in the pre-Columbian era. The movie was shot simultaneously in two languages – Norwegian and English: every scene had to be shot twice, except for action scenes, to which dubbing was added in post-production. In the end, two versions of the movie were released: for international and domestic distribution. And for good reason – the fees paid off the budget 20 times over.

“The Aeronauts.

Adventure drama about balloonists shows London in 1862. At several hundred meters high are the characters of Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. The girl is passionate about controlling balloons, while the guy works as a meteorologist and dreams of a scientific discovery. In the movie, the characters take to the air in a hot air balloon for the first time. In reality, the first British balloonists were James Gleicher and Henry Coxwell. The latter was replaced by the fictional character Amelia Wren – a composite image of the first aeronauts Sophie Blanchard and Margaret Graham. During filming, the actors actually went up in a hot air balloon and their flight is shown on screen in real time.

Photo: Legion-media