Travel Around the World During Self-Quarantine

Written by Yunqin Wang

As the pandemic ravages the world, my plans to travel to Seattle, Wyoming, Austin, as well as back to Asia seem to have been postponed indefinitely. Looking back the past month, I realize that the only trip I’ve made was a 10 minute walk to the closest grocery store. Yet, within that 10 minute, I found I was feeling upset about not just the prospect of not being able to travel, but also I miss the “city” so much -- the New York bustling with life, news and videos of events happening all over the world. 

Thus, I thought this would be a good time to recommend some of my favorite films about other places and times -- since why don’t we take this time to just give ourselves a temporary escape? Or, more realistically, to decide the next city we’d love to land on?

New York, USA  - Frances Ha (Film) 

As the name suggests, Frances Ha tells the story of Frances Halladay, a 27-year-old apprentice dancer who lives in New York. Her life is upended when her roommate decides to move out, and she finds herself unable to afford the rent alone and has to find new places to live. She moves to Chinatown and shares an apartment with two other friends, and at the same time, keeps struggling in her dance career. Although filmed in black-and-white, Frances Ha has always been one of my favorite New York films as it portrays the life of young dreamers in the city so movingly. Through the picture and the amazing soundtrack, I keep getting reminded of the bustling energy of the city, and what’s more, some of the most amazing human interactions which I sometimes think could only happen in New York.  

Paris, France - Before Sunset (film)

“But you have to think that Notre Dame will be gone one day.” This film made in 2004 almost made a prophet of the heartbreaking Notre Dame fire. Opening inside the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore, Before Sunset invites us to go on a tour along Marais district of the 4th arrondissement, to a French cafe, then the Promenade Plantée park, and finally on board a bateau mouche from Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Henri IV. The process of the production was almost like planning the most romantic touring route in Paris -- a route that closes “before sunset”. Wouldn’t it be nice to travel back to Paris in the early 2000 again — the time when Notre Dame was still intact — and to be bathed in music and sunlights?

Hong Kong, China - Made in Hong Kong (film)

Part of director Fruit Chan’s “1997 Trilogy” which celebrates the reunification of Hong Kong, Made in Hong Kong centers around Autumn Moon, a low-rent triad living in Hong Kong. With his encounter with a girl who committed suicide, he starts his journey of finding meaning in his hopelessly violent existence. While the film is considered as a low-cost independent production for it is made from lots of left-over film reels, I found extreme authenticity and a sense of realism in the picture. We see streets of Hong Kong, stores along the street, absurd but moving life stories… To me they are not only an intimate portrait of Hong Kong, but also a symbol of the anxiety people were facing back then — an anxiety and insecurity that could be universal. 

Venice, Italy - Death in Venice (book/film)

As our protagonist, Gustav von Aschenbach, travels to Venice for health reasons, he becomes obsessed with a beautiful boy named Tadzio who is staying with his family at the same hotel on the Lido as Aschenbach. With Gustav’s arrival in Venice, we soon hear the water, see the gondola, begin to embrace the sand and the ocean. There is calm in Venice: the waves, winds, delicate meals. There is passion too: music and festivals in the hotel, men and women lying on the beach. There is certain pain, as the problem of health penetrates throughout the story, and yet there is more importantly, love and beauty. While I was reading the book, I was constantly reminded of Keats’ poem, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty”. How I want to be in Venice, and feel the summer breeze bringing all those beautiful scents and life to me. 

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Happy Together (film) 

My all-time favorite film by Wong Kar-wai, Happy Together is about a couple who comes to visit Buenos Aires hoping to renew their relationship. In Buenos Aires, they took a road trip to the Iguazu Falls, but on the road, went into an argument and broke up. They thus came back to Buenos Aires and stayed there for a while separately. Throughout the screen, the agony of love interweaves with the tango, the music, the colorful nights of Buenos Aires. While watching, I can’t help but call Buenos Aires a true city of passion. I don’t want to spoil the film, but by the end, we will get a glimpse at the sublime Iguazu Falls, and what’s more, also arrive at Ushuaia, the south-most part of Argentina which bears a breathtaking view. Happy Together tells a journey from the most vigorous Buenos Aires to the cold end of the world, and at the same time, a journey of two lovers.