9 Films to Make You Feel Like You're Summering on a European Beach
And a soundtrack for your aperitivo.
Somehow it’s about to be August and my dream of lounging on a sailboat off the coast of a European island hasn’t manifested itself. Yet.
Instead, I’ve been dealing with some serious life shit so the closest I’ve been able to get to an Italian holiday is sipping a frozen negroni at Capri Club while making myself jealous with photos from my own trip to Puglia a few years ago.
So I’ve put together a list of films whose gorgeous settings will transport you (me) to a European beach, at least for the length of the movie. From the rocky cliffs of the Côte d'Azur to the volcanic landscape of Pantelleria, these locations themselves are the main characters.
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The quintessential American-socialites-on-extended-holiday-in-Italy movie. Anthony Minghella’s 1999 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel about a charming sociopath who infiltrates the glamorous life of the idle rich stars Jude Law, Gwyenth Paltrow, Matt Damon, and the Amalfi Coast.
A Bigger Splash
I am obsessed with Pantelleria, thanks to my friend who lives in Italy and this movie. Tilda Swinton plays a rock star who's lost her voice and is vacationing on the secluded Italian island with her boyfriend, when her ex shows up with his daughter and totally throws off the vibe. Combo this with Call Me By Your Name and make it a Luca Guadagnino double feature night.
Contempt
Watch a marriage fall apart against the beautiful backdrop of Capri in Jean-Luc Godard’s classic starring Brigitte Bardot and Jack Palance.
L’Avventura
A group of wealthy Italians are on a yachting trip in the Mediterranean when one of them goes missing. The mystery of her disappearance is never solved; instead, the film morphs into something else entirely. Michelangelo Antonioni’s masterpiece about alienation and the impossibilty of truly knowing another human is one of my faves.
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Barbet Schroeder’s 1969 film set on Ibiza with a score by Pink Floyd will make you wish you had a time machine (but not a heroin addiction.)
The Lost Daughter
Maggie Gyllenhall’s excellent directorial debut about the complexities of motherhood, adapted from Elena Ferrante’s novel, stars Olivia Coleman and Dakota Johnson and is set on a fictional Greek island.
Sexy Beast
A retired gangster is living his best life in coastal Spain until his intense former associate forces him to do one last London bank heist. Jonathan Glazer’s directorial debut features amazing performances from both the Mediterranean landscape and Ben Kingsley.
Morvern Callar
Lynn Ramsay’s film about a supermarket clerk who passes off her dead boyfriend’s novel as her own starts out in a bleak Scottish town before moving to the real star: the sun-drenched coast of Spain.
An Easy Girl
Rebecca Zlotowski’s film is a coming-of-age story about two working class French girls — a naïve teenager and her older cousin — who spend the summer hanging out with wealthy older men on the Côte d'Azur.
Looking back over this list, I think I may have an affinity for dark stories set against beautiful backdrops. If you came here expecting Mamma Mia! and Under the Tuscan Sun, sorry! But these films are better, I promise.
Now arrange some olives and cheese on a cutting board, pour yourself an Aperol spritz, and put on this playlist while you decide which tale of sun-drenched doom to watch tonight.
Until next time,
Tara
I love it!
Wow! This list was exactly what I needed! ☀️⛱️🌊🐚 thank you for sharing!