Its all About Filming a Gang of Us
By Akash Shanmugasa
A gang, gaggle or even two? Friendships that do things together, that have life experiences together, make for richer connections. It may well be why road trip movies with friends and family in tow have been a popular theme for many a year. Here are a few to enjoy as the summer comes to a close and a cozy night in feels called for. Find out more in Its all About a Gang of Us here.
We may not be able to make it ourselves across American on route 66 or drive a motorcycle across unmanned terrain. But we can easily watch someone else doing it. There are films that cross every subject matter, from Westerns to Escape via Disaster flicks and Comedy capers.
Down by Law (1986)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch. With Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi. A truly offbeat American black-and-white independent neo-beat noir comedy film. Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, it stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni, as three men caught up mistakenly in crimes and ending up in the same cell. Along comes their jailbreak where the film focusing on the interaction between the convicts rather than on the mechanics of the escape. A key element in the film is Robby Müller’s slow-moving camerawork, which captures the architecture of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou to which the cellmates escape. Of course it comes with a great soundtrack
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Two friends embark on a road trip that turns into an escape from the law. It’s a powerful story of friendship and freedom, starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. A film with a classic ending that is most unexpected.
Easy Rider (1969)
A true counterculture classic, that follows two bikers as they journey across the American South and Southwest, exploring the societal changes of the 1960s. With the super cool Peter Honda and Dennis Hopper.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Not just a cult classic but a quirky and warm-hearted comedy about a dysfunctional family who take a cross-country trip in a VW van to support their daughter in a beauty pageant. The film manages to cross every possible emotion and includes a stella cast.
Rain Man (1988)
Long before we had terms like neurodivergent comes this heartwarming story. Tom Cruise plays a man who discovers his estranged brother is an autistic savant. Together, they travel cross-country, forming a bond along the way. Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise star in this Oscar-winning drama.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
A classic comedy about two mismatched travellers trying to get home for Thanksgiving. Starring Steve Martin and John Candy, it’s a hilarious journey of mishaps and misunderstandings. As funny as it is cringeworthy.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (200)
After escaping prison, Ulysses, Delmar and Pete embark on a journey to find a hidden treasure. As lawmen pursue them, a new companion and a brush with antisocial elements turn their lives around. The Soggy Bottom Boys stop at a radio broadcast tower to record a song to earn some cash and record the song ‘I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow.’
A American independent adventure drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V. The story follows two friends, Mike Waters and Scott Favor, played by River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves respectively, as they embark on a journey of personal discovery that takes them from Portland, Oregon, to Mike’s hometown in Idaho, and then to Rome in search of Mike’s mother. The film was considered a landmark in New Queer Cinema. Beautiful, heartfelt and a little heartbreaking too, with wonderful cinematography.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
This Wes Anderson American comedy-drama that he co-produced with Scott Rudin, Roman Coppola, and Lydia Dean Pilcher, but also he co-wrote with Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. The film stars Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Schwartzman as three estranged brothers who agree to meet in India a year after their father’s funeral for a “spiritual journey” aboard a luxury train. Their “spiritual quest”, however, veers rapidly off-course and a new, unplanned journey suddenly begins. A typically offbeat and visually stunning piece of celluloid.
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
In 1952, two young Argentines, Ernesto ‘CheGuevara’ and Alberto Granado, set out on a road trip to discover the real Latin America. The film follows them as they unveil the rich and complex human and social topography of the Latin American continent. The two friends leave their familiar surroundings in Buenos Aires on a rickety 1939 Norton 500. During eight-month journey, they begin to see a different Latin America in the people they meet on the road, the diverse geography they encounter begins to reflect their own shifting perspectives. The film is based on the memoir of Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
Transamerica (2005)
One week before her vaginoplasty, a trans woman named Sabrina “Bree” Osbourne, (Felicity Huffman) receives an unexpected phone call from a young man named Toby Wilkins, a 17-year-old jailed in New York City. He asks to speak to “Stanley Schupak” (Bree’s deadname); Toby claims to be the son of “Stanley”. Bree was previously unaware she had a son and, wanting a clean break from her past, nearly renounces him. However, Bree’s therapist refuses to give her approval for Bree’s upcoming surgery if Bree does not contact Toby. And so the metaphorical and physical journey begins.
And finally for something new how about Black Dog | Heartfelt British road-trip drama starring Jamie Flatters & Keenan Munn-Francis.
Two teenage boys from very different London backgrounds embark on a road trip North together. As they start to open up about their pasts, the boys learn they have far more in common than they first thought. Directed by George Jaques, Black Dog is available now on Amazon UK, AppleTV and Sky Store
There is nothing quite like a great family or even friendship saga, especially when you get to go on the journey with them. If you enjoyed reading Its all About Filming a Gang of Us then why not read Set Yourself Up for an Epic Reading Journey Here
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