The world is a big, scary, often bewildering place. So big, in fact, that few of us will ever see much of it. Like really see it — float among the majesty of Milford Sound, New Zealand; stalk (or be stalked) across Tanzania’s dynamic Serengeti; or touch the walls of the Petra, in Jordan, “a rose-red city half as old as time,” as a famous poet once put it. Fortunately, filmmakers old and new are making their way across the globe, documenting its beautiful, sometimes harsh landscapes, and telling stories of the people who live there. Below you’ll find a list of films about the world, told through the lens of different peoples’ collective struggles, their failures, their triumphs. The list is by no means exhaustive. But each film should prove a starting point for charting your own wild adventures around the world — starting from the comfort of your own living room.
The Motorcycle Diaries
Argentina/Chile/Peru: Based on the real-life journey of Marxist revolutionary Ernest “Che” Guevara (in his pre-guerilla days) and his friend Alberto Granado, The Motorcycle Diaries chronicles the pair’s road trip through South America in search of a true Latin American identity. What they find instead is the gross exploitation of the lower classes, with soaring vistas of the South American countryside providing poetic juxtaposition through the film.
Director: Walter Salles
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo De la Serna, Mía Maestro
Premiered: 2004
