By Emilie Rohrbach for DivineCaroline.com

If you’re like me, then I’m sure you’ve noticed that part of the fallout of our economic recession includes tighter budgets, more expensive airline tickets, and a downgrade of options and service in the travel industry. As someone who needs travel and adventure like I need oxygen, it’s all I can do to restrain myself from buying a ticket out of the country merely to escape the stress.

But, a more economically feasible option might be finding ways to escape without selling my car or trading in my 401(k). Movies have always been one of my favorite and least expensive escapes and these five will transport you to an exciting location beyond your living room couch and keep your wanderlust alive.
1. Dangerous Beauty
Who knew the plague and a war with Turkey could provide the backdrop for love? They can, if the drama unfolds in sixteenth century Venice and revolves around the forbidden love between a Spanish senator and a sought-after courtesan. This movie is based on the biography, The Honest Courtesan, by Margaret Rosenthal, about the life of Veronica Franco. Yes, there is a cheeseball factor that is prevalent in this movie; the heroine holds her breasts for a full five minutes while lecturing the Spanish Inquisition on the value of a woman’s sensuality and intelligence. They all wear corsets, recite poetry, toss flowers off bridges, drink wine, play various stringed instruments, throw lavish parties, and talk politics in lush gardens, while riding horses and having sex in gondolas—all in one day.

But … it’s Venice. Besides the lust and the occasional swordfight, Dangerous Beauty has gorgeous shots of the Basilica di San Marco, the Ca’ d’Oro, and the Rialto Bridge. There are also serene, almost magical images of the Odescalchi Castle of Santa Marinella. When I traveled to Venice, years after seeing this movie for the first time, I was astounded at how well it captured the luscious flavor of this city, where a person can tell time by the angle of the sun as it reflects on the Grand Canal and the fastest mode of transport is a water taxi. Venice was built for lovers, artists, and people who want to stroll rather than run.



Everyone needs to brave the maze of corridors that is Venice and take the time to ride a gondola, tour the Doge’s Palace, and eat gelato in Piazza San Marco. But if it’s not in your budget right now, let this movie take you there.

2. Into the Wild
My only request is that you read the book first, as John Krakauer does an extraordinary job telling the story of a conflicted Chris McCandless in a way that is honest, responsible, and compassionate. I felt haunted by the book and hoped the movie would accurately capture the spirit of this brave, ill-fated adventurer. I was not disappointed. The movie takes you from Georgia to California, across the Midwest, up to the Pacific Crest Trail, and down to the Colorado River and the Gulf of California following the journey of one young man’s quest to find personal freedom. Chris, as “Alexander Supertramp,” hitched through Montana, South Dakota, and national parks like Zion, Bryce, and Joshua Tree before finally landing in stunning Alaska and living out of a bus on the Stampede Trail in Denali National Park.

Having traveled to Alaska last summer, I can tell you that it really is that expansive—the skies, mountains, and rivers huge and untamed, the wilderness really that wild. My girlfriends and I trekked around the Kenai Peninsula, hiked in Homer, kayaked in Seward, and rafted in Talkeetna before backcountry camping in Denali State Park for three days (I would recommend the Ridge Trail in the state park with clear views of Mt. Denali over foraging your own path in the national park.) If you ever want to go on a soul-searching, heart-opening personal quest, I could not recommend Alaska more highly as an inspiring landscape. In the meantime, I guarantee this movie will awaken your sense of adventure.

3. Like Water for Chocolate
Again, I suggest reading the book first, written by first-time novelist Laura Esquivel. Like Water for Chocolate takes place in Mexico and tells the story of Tita and Pedro’s love for one another during the time of the Mexican Revolution (are we sensing a pattern?), but I think it’s reflective of Latin American culture at large. Having spent time in Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala as well as Mexico, I can vouch that there is a sensuality to these places that is beautifully captured by the magical realism of the film. Whether trekking through a rainforest outside of El Salvador’s capital, rafting the Misahualli in the Amazon, kayaking on Lago de Atitlan, dancing salsa in the nightclubs of Antigua, or photographing children on the streets of Oaxaca, I believe that every aspect of this culture intimates folklore, color, and passion. These lands are rich with sultry antiquity and rely upon people’s story-telling, passed down from generation to generation, to keep this mystical history alive. Like Water for Chocolate gives you a taste of this cultural zeal.



4. Mamma Mia!
My mom liked this movie more than I did, and I admit that I would rather watch Pierce Brosnan kick butt as 007 any day then ever have to listen to him sing again, but who can resist the color and whimsy of Greece? Set on the Greek island of Skopelos (Kalokairi in the film) and Damouhari on the Aegean coast (which, by the way, was settled by the Venetians and is a derivation of the word “d’amour,” which means “my love or divine grace”), Mamma Mia! makes you want to put on a bikini and dance with your girlfriends on a nearby pier, or at the very least paint your living room walls turquoise. My favorite scenes include the men striking poses on Kastani Beach to “Does Your Mother Know?” and Meryl Streep singing “The Winner Takes it All” on her way to the Agios Ioannis Chapel, or, as they call it in Greece, the church on the rock. In this movie, the sun is always shining, the water and the men always glisten, even—and especially—in the moonlight, and everyone around seems to know the harmonies and the dance moves to the songs that you sing. If you can’t buy your own bed and breakfast in Greece (unfortunately, there is no Villa Donna) and have all your old boyfriends come back into your life and profess their undying love for you, this movie is the next best thing.

5. Twilight
This one is for our younger readers, Twilight moms, and women everywhere (like me) who are brave enough to admit that they loved his movie. Yes, the crush I have on Robert Pattinson (have you heard this man sing?) is unrivaled, save for the love I had for Johnny Depp when I was a teenager and he was merely a fresh-faced cop on 21 Jump Street. But this movie compels me for more reasons than just the way the leading man makes my heart race, how much I enjoyed the books, or how much I admire Stephenie Meyer, the author.

The story is set in Forks, Washington, but was actually filmed throughout Washington and Oregon. Even though it was apparently filmed under a near-constant cover of clouds and rain, this movie beautifully captures the lush, green, soft essence of the Olympic Peninsula and the Pacific Northwest, which has within it some of my favorite hot springs and places to camp. (Read The Hiker’s Guide to Hot Springs of the Pacific Northwest by Evie Litton.) While it’s true that weeks of solid rain can make a person sad, I suggest you leave town, put on a rain coat, and get into the Olympia rain forest region for the most luxurious air you could possibly breathe. And if that’s not immediately possible, then the next best option is renting this movie (it comes out on DVD in February) or going to see it in the theaters one wet, cold evening to be reminded of all the fun and mystery that can be woven into the darkness and the rain.

Though this list is far from exhaustive—other favorites include Amelie, The Power of One, Paris, Je t’aime, Manhattan, Love in the Time of Cholera, and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy—these films can temporarily transport you until you save enough pennies to experience the real thing.