Top 10 Best Films to Watch When You're Feeling Adventurous

By Tamiera Vandegrift on September 9, 2016

Just because the summer is coming to a close doesn’t mean that your sense of adventure has to go along with it. Coming to you hot off the press is a list of films that you’re bound to love when you’ve got that inner wanderlust lingering in your soul, but neither the time nor the bank account to satisfy it. Without further ado, here are the top ten best films to watch when you’re feeling adventurous.

10. Eat, Pray, Love

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Based on the best-selling memoir, Eat, Pray, Love tells the true story of Elizabeth Gilbert, a woman who had everything a 21st century woman should want. Still, she finds herself lost and without what she really wants out of life. Upon having this realization, Gilbert hits the road to Italy, India, and Indonesia on an adventure of self-discovery. Gilbert originally took the journey to find herself, but ended up finding true love along the way. Eat, Pray, Love has everything for the hopeless romantic, and the hopeless wanderer.

9. Mr. Bean’s Holiday

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If you grew up on the crazy antics of Mr. Bean, then Mr. Bean’s Holiday will be another episode of crazy antics for you to enjoy. The eccentric, tie-wearing hooligan that we’ve all grown to love is now venturing across the country of Europe to see the magnificent beaches of Cannes, France.  The only problem? He ends up accidentally responsible for a lost child, with the French police squadron hot on his tail, and in a starring role of an artsy film directed by an extremely pretentious director. Live vicariously through all the blunders that you can hope to never experience in your adventures.

8. Wild

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In this powerful drama, based upon the novel Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed. Strayed is a young woman whose life began to take a downward spiral into drugs and promiscuous sex after the death of her mother. In order to turn her dark path around, Strayed makes the decision to journey along the Pacific Crest Trail in order to experience a journal of healing, redemption, and self-discovery. Along the way, she finds her inner strength and power, and will no doubt encourage you to find yours as well.

7. The Bucket List

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Each year is comprised of 365 days and not all of those days are guaranteed. The wisest decision that we can make is to live each and every day as if it would be our last. This is exactly what Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson intend to do in The Bucket List. The story follows Freeman and Nicholson, two terminally ill men who have decided to embrace life instead of fearing the inevitability of death. Together, they begin to compose a “bucket list” of things they want to do before the end of their lives. They begin their around-the-world adventure by sky-diving, driving fast cars, eating at luxorious restaurants, and even reaching the base camp of Mount Everest! The Bucket List will inspire you to leap off of your sofa this instant and have an adventure while there are still adventures to be had!

6. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

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Where do you see yourself in five years? Do you see yourself jumping from a helicopter into shark-infested waters in order to save a missing picture from your job at a magazine company? That’s where Walter Mitty sees himself. Ben Stiller plays Mitty, a shy, mild-mannered young man with a wild imagination that takes him through epic car chases, David Bowie-induced trances, and all the way to the legendary Sean Penn. The adventure doesn’t end here though. The adventures of Walter Mitty are only beginning. When will yours?

5. Up

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In this beautiful Disney-Pixar film, we join Carl Frederickson and Russell on their adventure to Paradise Falls, where Carl plans to live out the rest of his life: a dream he and his wife, Ellie held since they were children. This animated family feature isn’t as heavy or climactic as some of the other contenders on our list, but it still holds the same heart. Carl and Russell’s shared love for the wild and sense of adventure will creep its way into your heart without a doubt. Pretty soon, you’ll want to tie hundreds of balloons to your apartment and float away into the sunset. We won’t stop you, but we’re sure your landlord might have a thing or two to say about it.

4. The Way

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Directed by Emilio Estevez, The Way is a tale of the love between father and son and the beauty of the Camino de Santiago, or The Way of St. James, a Catholic pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela . Martin Sheen plays Thomas Avery, a man who travels to France after the untimely death of his son, who was walking the Camino de Santiago at the time of his death. His original intent is simply to retrieve his son’s body, but out of grief and honor to his son, Avery makes the Camino de Santiago in his place, meeting several other characters seeking some sort of self-healing along the way. If you’re looking for a film to touch your heart and inspire you to make your own personal, spiritual pilgrimage, then this is the way for you.

3. Into the Wild

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Nobody on Earth quite understands wanderlust like Christopher McCandless, the man who oh-so romantically burned his remaining money, left his car in the desert, and hitchhiked all the way to Alaska to live out the remainder of his days in the wilderness like his heroes, Thoreau and Tolstoy. Some may view McCandless as a fool for his actions, but no one can deny his spirit and fortitude as a human being to seek a destiny far from the road more traveled. Based on the novel by Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild retells McCandless’ story from the time of his graduation to his final days in the Alaskan wilderness. If you ever get the feeling that you just need to run away from the world and its complications, Into the Wild will let you do so.

2. Samsara

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Directed by Ron Fricke and shot in a 70 mm format, Samsara is a dialogue-free documentary showcasing the wonder and beauty of our planet and its culture over the course of five years. Samsara is a Sanskrit term regarding to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. In 99 minutes, the film was shot in over a hundred locations in 25 different countries, including China, Denmark, Egypt, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey – just to name a few! Travel and see the beauty our planet has to offer without leaving the comfort of your home… For now.

1. The Human Experience

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In 2008, four young men went out into the world with the question, “What does it mean to be human?”, and this film answers that question. The men lived with the homeless of New York City during one of the coldest recorded winters of the season. They traveled to Peru and Africa to view the human condition across foreign lands with the less fortunate as well. Overall, the men left with a single solitary answer of what it is to be human. In order to find out, you’ll simply have to watch this beautiful, yet gut-wrenching film to satisfy your curiosity and your sense of adventure.

Do you have a film that satisfies your need for adventure? Let us know in the comments!

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