Here are five movies that will inspire you to pack your bags and hit the road asap. In researching this list, it became apparent to me that there are woefully few films that focus on women’s travel experiences – most seem to fall under the “American goes to Europe and has romantic liaison” category. (Fine, but please, Hollywood, can you mix up the trope a little?). All that said, these five films have some amazing solo female travel scenes, and are sure to add some fire to your belly and spark to your wanderlust.
Based on the true story and bestselling book, by Cheryl Strayed (played in the film by Reese Witherspoon, who also produced it), this is about a woman who hikes the PCT after her mother’s death. The story has it all – the myriad dilemmas solo female travellers face on a daily basis, the gutsy motivation it takes to start and finish something, and the array of messy encounters that characterises most trips taken on your own. You can’t help coming away having sheer admiration for Strayed.
This film has become the modern-day Thelma & Louise – perhaps more so because it’s about one woman travelling alone, rather than with her best friend. Based on the bestselling book by Elizabeth Gilbert (played here by Julia Roberts), the story starts with the writer leaving her marriage, then taking a soul-searching trip through three different countries (Italy, India and Bali), where she experiences life lessons and soul food, and ultimately meets her husband-to-be.
The ultimate female road-trip empowerment movie, Thelma & Louise is a heart-wrenching tale of two girls (Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon) driving through the American desert, and getting into a mounting spider’s web of nail-biting antics. OK, this isn’t specifically about solo female travel, but it’s still a refreshing take on the classic American male road trip, and continues to hold bags of appeal today. Plus, the ending still haunts me.
Another true story, this one based on the autobiography of Dian Fossey (played by Sigourney Weaver), who leaves her home in America to travel to rural Rwanda and Uganda to study, and save, the endangered mountain gorillas. Tissues at the ready.
This is where a girl (Julie Delpy) meets a boy (Ethan Hawke) on a train, and both decide to get off in Vienna to spend the evening wandering the city together. I like it because Julie Delpy’s character is fun and spontaneous, but also doesn’t take any sh*t. I can also recommend the follow-on movies, if you want to know what happens to the characters post-meet-cute.
What do you think? Do you have any other film or book recommendations for me? Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts.
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