By Stephen Farber, Special to the Los Angeles Times
‘Cairo Time’ will make you want to hop a plane to Egypt. Here are 10 more movies that inspire wanderlust.
Ruba Nadda’s “ Cairo Time,” which just opened, is a “Brief Encounter”-style love story about an American woman who meets an Egyptian man while her husband is away on business. Their subdued romance blossoms against the bustling backdrop of Cairo. While the film features fine performances by Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig, its greatest achievement is its evocation of a Middle Eastern city that few Westerners have seen in such loving detail.
Movies have often excelled at transporting us to exotic locales and immersing us in the sensations of cities we may not have visited or tantalizing us with a fresh glimpse of cities we think we know. Another movie opening this month, Ryan Murphy‘s “Eat Pray Love,” based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling memoir, aims to envelop audiences in the sights and sounds of Italy, India and Bali, where Gilbert felt her life rejuvenated.
Ever since movies started shooting on location, this has been a primary appeal of the medium. “Casablanca” may have evoked the North African casbah through clever art direction, but it was all shot on the Warners backlot. The picture continues to stir romantic fantasies but no longer inspires a sense of wanderlust. (Colm Hogan / Associated Press)
