Destination Armchair traveller

As borders remain closed we’re still travelling from the comfort of our own homes. And in the middle of winter, you might be used to visiting warmer climes. This month Julia Newbould is focused on films that can transport us from our current reality.

Five things to watch 1. Call Me by Your Name (2017)

This coming-of-age drama is set in the summer of 1983 in a village in Lombardy. Much of the action takes place in a 17th century villa in Italy’s north (the region worst affected by the current pandemic). Scenes of lazy summer days spent by the pool will instantly transport you to warmer climes and there’s a tantalising night visit to a small quarry lake in the Palata Menasciutto Nature Reserve. The film takes you on a tour through the towns of Cremona, Bergamo, Brescia and Lodi. A visit to an archaeological site on Lake Garda where precious artefacts are recovered from the waters highlights the historical significance of this region.

2. Roman Holiday (1953)

As a travelogue this movie has it all. The black-and-white film set in 1950s Rome showcases the capital city’s rich heritage and culture, which continues to attract tourists in droves today. This was confirmed by the long queue I encountered on my visit last year outside Cosmedin’s Church of Santa Maria, which houses the Mouth of Truth (Bocca Della Vertia). Stars Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck visit the Trevi Fountain (somewhat less crowded than in recent years), the Spanish Steps, Piazza Venezia, the Colosseum, Castel Sant’Angelo and the Tiber River. Although Roman Holiday is now more than half a century old, the city continues to celebrate it with postcards, calendars and other memorabilia.

3. Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020)

The quintessentially English scenes of this adventure film (very much like the old Boys’ Own adventures of the 1920s and similar in feel to the Indiana Jones franchise), are set in Melbourne: Rippon Lea Estate, South

Melbourne Town Hall and the Werribee Park mansion. But the exotic locations of the Middle East were filmed in the warm climes of Morocco and the sand dunes, camels and small plane flights across the desert, which looked like some sort of clever computer-generated work, whet the appetite for travel to this part of the world once borders reopen.

4. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

The Singapore depicted in this rom com might not be the Singapore an average traveller experiences; it’s the high end that many would like to visit. In fact, many of the locations are in Malaysia, including Langkawi for Araminta’s resort bachelorette party; Carcosa Seri Negara in Kuala Lumpur for the Youngs’ ancestral home; Belanda House for a tropical villa; and the St Regis Kuala Lumpur for Astrid’s home. Sites in Singapore include the Convent of the Holy Jesus Middle School (for Araminta’s wedding), Chinatown, Raffles Hotel and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The film also features the food of Malaysia and Singapore – and the scene for the first taste of Singapore is the Newton Food Centre.

5. The Farewell (2019)

Set in Changchun, China, this film focuses on what is seen as essential travel: to visit the elderly grandmother in China who is dying but cannot know that she is dying. Travel occurs between New York and this city in north-east China. Rather than lakes and forests, the film instead shows the cityscapes, which are not so pretty but instead are representative of a different life and culture. The New York scenes are quite similar in starkness and utility. Changchun is also the filming location of Bernardo Bertolucci’s lush The Last Emperor (1987), The Soong Sisters (1997) and Spring Tide (2019).