8 Wanderlust-Worthy Travel Movies Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Image via Touchstone Pictures
We at Paste believe in escaping the malaise of everyday life, especially these days (in case you haven’t heard, the world’s going to crap). So we’ve compiled a list of films that not only whisk their characters away on an adventure they’re not likely to forget, but also provide a compelling couple of hours with drama, tragedy and a little bit of comedy thrown in for good measure. And the best part is, you don’t have renew your passport to go on any of these adventures. The only thing that needs renewing is your Netflix membership.
Here, we have the fateful trip of a doomed ship in the Atlantic, a writer who finds that the streets of Paris are more magical than they appear and an oceanographer hellbent on revenge after his friend and business partner is eaten by a Jaguar Shark. So basically, we’re all across the board.
1. Moonrise Kingdom
We all remember young love. We’d do anything for it, even run away from home. In Moonrise Kingdom, Sam and Suzy do just that. Set on a strange New England island, Wes Anderson fills the frames with his usual cast of odd characters that flesh out a truly innocent story. Once Sam and Suzy flee their respective lives, the entire town, including Sam’s Boy Scout troop and Suzy’s family, set out to find them.
2. Titanic
James Cameron’s epic depiction of that fateful night when the unsinkable ship, well, sank is a large, bombastic and spotty masterpiece. It’s got problems, but it’s a James Cameron film. It’s centered on the fabled relationship between Jack and Rose, two star-crossed lovers from different class systems, and the fact that they’re actually on the Titanic is almost an afterthought. Until the ship hits the iceberg, and the real James Cameron film breaks out.
3. Midnight in Paris
Look, we all know that Woody Allen is a troubling figure. But if you can separate the art from the artist, you’ll find that Midnight in Paris is a whimsically lovely film filled with more Owen Wilson “whaaaaowwws” than you can shake a stick at. Wilson plays a wistful writer who walks the streets and travels through time in Paris while on vacation with his fiancé’s family. During his travels, he meets writers like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and T.S. Eliot. It’s crazy.