Cinematic destinations: 11 films to inspire Hollywood holidaying this year

Set in: Sydney/Warrane to Alice Springs/Mparntwe
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

An icon of Australian and queer cinema, it’d be a sin not to mention cult classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert set in the red outback. Premiering at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, this Australian comedy stars Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp as three drag queens road-tripping in silver tour bus Priscilla from Sydney to Alice Springs for a cabaret gig. The film celebrates queer creative expression with gay and trans characters driving the voyage – albeit with some run-ins with rural-town bigots – and features Oscar-winning costuming and a spectacularly camp soundtrack. And in wake of director Stephan Elliot’s announcement in April 2024 of there being a sequel in the works – with the original cast on board – it’s prime time to get the sequins out.

Where to watch: Amazon Prime from $4.99, SBS On Demand
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: Sturt Desert Pea House, Alice Springs

Set in: New Zealand/Aotearoa
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

An adaptation of Barry Crump’s 1986 novel Wild Pork and Watercress, Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople sees Julian Dennison and Sam Neil star across each other as Ricky and Hector who become unlikely persons of interest in a nationwide manhunt with a $10,000 reward. Afraid he’ll be returned to the foster care system, spirited Ricky shoddily fakes his own death and flees into the New Zealand bush; his foster “Uncle”, the gruff Hector follows after him which sparks a dogged pursuit of the state. The pair traverse the New Zealand wilderness in hiding – with scenes filmed in locations such as Piha, Karekare, Bethells Beach, Horopito and the Kaimanawa Plains. In true Waititi style, HFTW straddles dry Kiwi humour and growing pains. An easy yet thoughtful watch to inspire your next hike across the pond.

Where to watch: Amazon Prime or Apple TV from $4.99, Netflix
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: Piha Retreat FivePendrell, Piha

Set in: Pilbara region, Australia
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

A coming-of-age film set against the red vastness of Pilbara country in the Western Australian outback, Sweet As stars Shantae Barnes-Cowan as Murra. A 16-year-old girl who discovers a resonance with photography on a road trip with other ‘at risk’ youth, as Murra’s bond with her camera grows, so too does her relationships with those around her. Screening at Melbourne, Toronto and Berlin International Film Festivals – and featuring a stellar all-Indigenous soundtrack – this sensitive and nuanced film is one that underscores the backdrop of home soil.

Where to watch: Amazon Prime from $4.99, Binge, Foxtel

Set in: Vienna, Austria
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

A boy, a girl, a chance meeting on a train, one night in Vienna. Before Sunrise is one of those special films where not much happens but you’ll always remember how you felt the first time you saw it. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy star across as each other as early-twenty-somethings Jesse and Celine who meet on a train and decide to spend Jesse’s last hours in Europe together before he’s set to fly back to the US. The pair wanders Vienna, listening to records, sharing stolen glances and have all the same real-life conversations when navigating a new person you like. An escapist romance set to a moody soundtrack, this is the first in a trilogy made in the span of 30 years. Its following films Before Sunset and Before Midnight are set against the backdrops of Paris and Greece.

Where to watch: Apple TV
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: 1900 Vienna apartment

Set in: pre-Revolutionary France
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

Céline Sciamma’s stirring and deeply intimate Portrait of a Lady on Fire is an erotic period romance set during the late eighteenth century on an isolated Brittany island. Starring Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel, the film explores the connection between two women when artist Marianne is commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of an engaged Héloïse without her knowing. Spending days with the countess’ daughter under the guise of being her hired companion, Marianne must paint Héloïse from memory in secret when they’re apart. Winner of the Best Screenplay and Queer Palm awards at Cannes Film Festival, this film is an exercise of the female gaze – filmed against the dramatic coastline of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon and in a La Chapelle-Gauthier chateau.

Where to watch: Apple TV, Stan
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: Riverside Priory, Champagne

Set in: a fictional island off the west coast of Ireland
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

A man’s best friend abruptly ends their lifelong friendship and cuts off one of his own fingers each time the man tries to talk to him. A tale as old as time, really. In their reunion with writer-director Martin McDonagh after the 2008 In Bruges, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star in this offbeat dark comedy set on a remote fictional island off the west coast of Ireland in 1923 during the Irish Civil War. Shot on two islands: Achill Island in County Mayo, and Inis Mór of County Galway’s Aran Islands, the bleak setting backdrops Padraic’s affliction and the situation’s absurdity. The multi-Golden-Globe-winning film also stars Kerry Condon and Saltburn‘s Barry Keoghan in almost-spotlight-stealing supporting roles.

Where to watch: Disney+
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: Coastal Cottage, County Kerry

Set in: Portland, USA; Idaho, USA; Rome, Italy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 80%

An arthouse indie that will stay with you long after watching, Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho stars River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves as best friends Mike, a sensitive narcoleptic, and Scott, the mayor’s rebel son. Loosely based on a few plays within Shakespeare’s Henriad, the two Oregon-based sex workers embark on a road trip in search of Mike’s biological mother that takes them from Portland to Idaho to Rome. A landmark film in New Queer Cinema, this poignant cult classic harnesses avant-garde stills, ’90s heart throbs, unrequited love and the search for one’s place.

Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon Prime from $4.99, ABC iview
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: Roman Ochre, Rome

Set in: New York City, USA
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

Feeling kinda directionless? So is Frances Halladay. Endearingly awkward, Frances Ha is a modern black-and-white coming-of-age film of sorts set in New York. Starring Greta Gerwig as the titular 27-year-old would-be dancer, the film sees Frances go from sharehouse to sharehouse across in Brooklyn and Manhattan while trying to keep employment as an apprentice at a dance school. Shot in French New Wave style and having made an intentional choice to shoot with equipment akin to that of a student filmmaker, the indie cult comedy-drama is an intimate portrait of platonic love, navigating ambition and oneself – set against the New York rat race.

Where to watch: Apple TV
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: Ace Hotel Brooklyn, NYC

Set in: New York City, USA
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98% 

Heartfelt ’80s comedy starring a boyish Tom Hanks, Big walked so Suddenly 30 could run. An alleged adaptation of the 1987 Italian film Da Grande, Big is a wide-eyed tale set against the Big Apple wherein 12-year-old Josh wishes to be “big” and wakes up in the body of a 30-year-old man the next day; cue Hanks. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, this coming-of-age story by Penny Marshall is one of magical realism and naïve whimsy. Big is one to put on the projector for a wholesome afternoon – just be prepared to feel some things.

Where to watch: Disney+
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: Soho Grand Hotel, NYC

Film set in Asia

Set in: 1960s Hong Kong during British colonial rule
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

In the Mood for Love follows the quiet and complex bond between neighbours Mr Chow and Mrs Chan who suspect their respective spouses are cheating on them with each other. First set in the vertical, post-war metropolis of 1962 Hong Kong where East and West design elements converge and Cantonese food and culture reigns, it’s the second film in Wong Kar-wai’s unofficial trilogy that also includes Days of Being Wild and 2046. Nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival – where Tony Leung became the first Hong Kong actor to win Best Actor for his performance across from Maggie Cheung – it’s a longing tale of the unspoken. And akin to the film’s Cantonese name which roughly translates to ‘flower-like period’, this romance drama captures a fleeting beauty.

Where to watch: MUBI
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: The Upper House, Hong Kong

Film set in South America

Set in: Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela
Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%

Based on the memoirs of Che Guevara and Alberto Granado, The Motorcycle Diaries recounts the transformative 1952 motorcycle journey of the two cousins across South America. This biographical coming-of-age film illuminates the stark realities of poverty and social injustice faced by Indigenous communities that sparked a political awakening in Guevara. Using natural light and sweeping shots of mountain ranges, winding roads, and lush rainforests – from the Andes to the Amazon – the cinematography captures the vastness and isolation of the land shaping their journey. Directed by Academy Award-winning Walter Salles, the film combines wide-eyed exploration with social commentary, highlighting the catalytic nature of travel and the forces that ultimately influenced Guevara’s ideals.

Where to watch: Apple TV
GT‘s pick of inspired accommodation: Mio Buenos Aires, Argentina