Top 10 dramatic travel movies

By Hayley Woodin [entertainment bureau chief]

Is a great travel movie defined by its cinematography? Or is it about an adventurous plot, or even how much the film makes you want to travel to the places in the movie?
Everyone will have their own criteria for what movies top their list, but here are 10 travel movies that appear to be popular picks, and can provide a temporary escape, in theory, from the cold winter weather.

1 “The Beach,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. His character, Richard, travels to Thailand where he discovers he is in possession of a strange map that supposedly leads to a utopian beach.

2 “Into the Wild,” directed by Sean Penn, and based on the non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer. The film follows Christopher as he gives up his material possessions and sets off for Alaska to live in the wilderness.

3 “The Darjeeling Limited,” starring Owen Wilson and Adrien Brodie, a comedic and endearing movie that tells the story of three disconnected brothers who travel India by train.

4 “Around the World in 80 Days,” starring Jackie Chan. A British inventor, Chinese thief and an artist attempt to travel around the world in 80 days. The film is set in a time where jets haven’t been invented.

5 “Eat, Pray, Love,” starring Julia Roberts and based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir.  In the film, a woman realizes the emptiness of her life, and sets off on a journey to Italy, India and Indonesia to find herself.

6 “The Motorcycle Diaries,” a multiple award-winning film about the memoir and journey of Ernesto Guevara, who would later be known as Ché Guevara, the Argentine Marxist revolutionary.

7 “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” starring Steve Martin. The comedic holiday film is about a man’s struggle to make it home for Thanksgiving while he deals with his only companion: an obnoxious salesman.

8 “Up in the Air,” starring George Clooney, focuses on the “travel” aspect of travelling. Because of his job, Ryan lives his life out of his suitcase, flies constantly, can never maintain a real relationship and essentially leads an empty life.

9 “One Week,” a Canadian film that chronicles one young man’s cross-country trip, from Toronto to Tofino, as he tries to discover the meaning of his life while battling cancer.

10 “Lost in Translation,” starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. The movie tells the story of how a movie star plagued by feelings of emptiness and a neglected newlywed meet in the bustling city of Tokyo.