With all of this uncertainty, there aren’t many ways to escape the negative. We all want to escape sometimes. However, although right now we cannot travel, it doesn’t mean we can’t escape and see the world through TV shows, movies and books.
There have been several new releases of TV shows, but VALLEY found some classic books and movies that shows the world through cinematic scenes—the ones we could only dream of seeing in real life.
Books
Eat Pray Love
“Eat Pray Love” is a memoir that expresses three of the best ways to live. This book tells the story of Elizabeth Gilbert and her adventures through Italy, India
She goes through each country and gains knowledge she wouldn’t otherwise have learned from her life in New York City prior to this trip. She describes how it is to just purely live. And this is something we could all learn from in these times where some things aren’t always certain.
Normal People
This book was recently turned into a TV show, but it is also worth mentioning the book. This book shows events the TV show wasn’t able to capture through the thoughts of the two main characters — Marianne and Connell.
This is a love story that takes place in Sligo, Ireland over the course of 6 years. The reader gets to see beautiful greenery and even the campus of Trinity College in Dublin.
We can all get lost in the story of Connell and Marianne’s relationship, after all they are normal people.
TV Shows
Normal People
This show was recently made into a Hulu series — and is worth mentioning a second time. If the book isn’t something you are interested in, watch the show.
The cinematic shots of the countryside, the close up of the actors and even the words unspoken make it impossible not to binge.
Paul Mescal, the actor who plays Connell, and Daisy Edgar Jones, who plays Marianne, aren’t bad to look at either.
Emily in Paris
Recently released on Netflix, this is a show that allows the viewer to escape into a fantasy world of fashion, food and romance.
Paris is known for all three, but Lily Collins plays the role of an American who moves to France for a year to complete a marketing job. The audience sees her journey through trying to understand French culture.
The show is easy to follow and extremely binge-worthy, and who wouldn’t want to spend a day pretending to be in Paris with Emily?
Movies
Call Me By Your Name
“Call Me By Your Name” is a movie that takes place in the 80s in Lombardy, Italy. (The real-life town is called Crema, Italy and there are even tours to see where the iconic scenes were filmed)
Elio Pearlman, played by Timothee Chalamet is a 17-year-old living with his family in their Italian home. He soon meets Oliver, played by Armie Hammer, who is a graduate student to Elio’s father.
This movie explores the beauty of love through exploration while also allowing the audience to feel as if they are with the characters from bike rides to market runs to swimming all around Italy.
Leap Year
“Leap Year” is a movie that takes place in Ireland. It is about the Celtic tradition of the woman being able to “pop the question” on February 29th. Anna, the main character, goes to Dublin to propose to her long-time boyfriend to ask him to marry her.
Things don’t fully go as planned, but we get to see a love story build while also getting glimpses of rural Ireland and comedic parts of a country that is nothing like America — such as sheep being a part of traffic.
