Air travel is a treasure trove of drama. Get a taste of travel with classic movies set on airplanes and airports

Text: Rie Shintani

Watch it from inside an airplane and experience the same excitement you feel when entering an airport. "The Terminal"

Airports are the departure and arrival points for air travel, and the international terminal is a bustling, multicultural place where people from all over the world come and go. "The Terminal," starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg, is a moving film set in such an airport. If you watch it on an airplane, the excitement you feel when you step into the airport may be different from usual.

The protagonist, a man named Navorski, comes to New York from Krakozhia to fulfill a certain wish, but just after he takes off, a military coup occurs in his home country, and the Krakozhia government is dissolved. At that moment, his passport issued by the previous government is invalidated. He is unable to enter or return home until the new government establishes diplomatic relations with the United States, and ends up staying in the international transfer lobby at JFK International Airport.

He can't speak the language, he doesn't know anyone, and he can't leave the terminal... In his solitude, Naborski struggles to make a place for himself. As he learns English, finds a job, he makes friends with the people working at the airport, and begins a romance with flight attendant Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and things begin to change.

The setting of the film was JFK International Airport in New York, which was filmed using a huge set, while the exterior of the airport and the planes taking off and landing were filmed at Montreal-Mirabel International Airport in Montreal, Quebec.

"Terminal"
Blu-ray: 2,075 yen (tax included) / DVD: 1,572 yen (tax included)
Publisher: NBCUniversal Entertainment
*Information as of April 2021.

"My Extraordinary Journey Locked in a Closet" will inspire you to travel even when you can't travel as much as you'd like.

"The Fantastic Journey of a Sadhu Trapped in an IKEA Chest of Drawers" is a film adaptation of the popular novel "The Fantastic Journey of a Sadhu Trapped in an IKEA Chest of Drawers," which has been sold in 30 countries around the world. Even when you can't travel as much as you'd like, this film will make you want to travel someday!

Aja (Dhanush), a street performer born and raised in a small village in Mumbai, heads to Paris to meet his father, whom he has never met, after his mother's death. While searching for his father, Aja falls in love with an American woman named Marie at an interior design shop he visits in Paris. He makes a promise to meet her the next day, but with nowhere to stay, he ends up spending the night in a closet at the furniture store.

In fact, the closet Aja was in was meant to be shipped to London, so Aja ends up traveling to unexpected places, from Paris to London, Spain, Rome, Libya...

Aja's main means of transportation from country to country is by plane. One of the most unique scenes is her journey in a suitcase. When Aja is unable to leave an airport in Spain, she sneaks into the suitcase of a famous Italian actress and struggles to escape. This unique story of traveling through the air with clothes is depicted in a colorful worldview typical of Indian films.

"My Extraordinary Journey Trapped in a Closet"
DVD: 4,180 yen (tax included) / 3,800 yen (tax excluded)
Publisher: TC Entertainment
Distributor: TC Entertainment
Brio Films @Sébastien Bossi
©2018 Copyright BRIO FILMS-SCOPE PICTURES-LITTLR RED CAR-TF1 AUDIOVISUELS-SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT FRANCE All rights reserved.

"Happy Flight" - The flight attendants' work will make you want to get on a plane

"Happy Flight," starring Gwyneth Paltrow, is a success story about a heroine living in a rural area of Nevada who aims to become a flight attendant, and it is also a romantic comedy. Many of the events that take place on board an airplane are depicted, so if you watch it while planning your trip, you will want to get on an airplane and go somewhere.

Donna, the main character, lives in a rural area of Nevada, but wants to get away from the city and change her life. What motivated her was an interview with former flight attendant Sally Weston. Believing Sally's words, "No matter where you're born, no matter how rural it is, no matter how people make fun of you, your dreams will come true. But you have to act now," Donna immediately takes action and gets a job at a small airline.

While working for an airline, Donna began to think that she wanted to aim higher. She interviewed at Loyalty Airlines, where Sally, who had given her the opportunity to change her life, worked, and was successfully hired as a trainee, but various unfairness awaited her ahead. However, no matter what the situation, Donna never gave up on her dream and aimed to become a first-class clerk on international flights.

One of the highlights of this movie is that it features various airports and airplanes, even though they are fictional, such as a small rural airport and the interior of an international flight. It also depicts the fate of Donna and Ted (Mark Ruffalo)'s love.

"Up in the Air" is a movie you can watch after your trip, looking back on your travels and work so far.

One of the joys of air travel is accumulating mileage points. "Up in the Air," starring George Clooney, is a human drama about a businessman who aims to collect 10 million miles, and who begins to reexamine his connections with people and life after meeting two women. Why not watch it after a memorable trip and look back on your own travels and work?

The protagonist, Ryan Bingham, is a professional who notifies employees who are being laid off from companies of their dismissal. He travels around the country for business trips 322 days a year, so he is just a little away from reaching his dream of flying 10 million miles. But then he has two unexpected encounters.

The first is Alex (Vera Farmiga), whom Bingham met on a business trip. Like him, she travels all over the country, and the two develop a casual, adult relationship. The second is new employee Natalie (Anna Kendrick). She's smart but not very sociable, and she comes up with a rational plan to introduce online work and eliminate business trips, which leads to conflict with Bingham. The highlight of the series is seeing what answers he comes to in both his love life and his work.

Although filming took place in five cities, Bingham's business trip destinations are depicted in 20 cities, including Detroit, Phoenix, St. Louis, and Wichita. There are also many scenes at airports and on planes, with Detroit Metropolitan Airport depicted as five different airports. The differences between each airport, as created by the art team, are also worth noting.

"Up in the Air"
Blu-ray: 2,619 yen (tax included) / DVD: 1,572 yen (tax included)
Publisher: NBCUniversal Entertainment
*Information as of April 2021.

"French Kiss" makes your heart beat faster with the encounters you'll make on your journey.

In the romantic comedy "French Kiss," Meg Ryan plays Kate, who has an extreme fear of flying. The story begins with her getting on a plane for the first time in her life due to unavoidable circumstances. If you watch it before going on a trip, you may find yourself fantasizing about a romantic encounter.

The reason Kate gets on an airplane is because her fiancé Charlie (Timothy Hutton) falls in love with a Parisian woman while on a business trip in Paris. Kate leaves Toronto for Paris to win him back.

The story is dramatic and cinematic, as the couple fall in love by chance when they find themselves seated next to each other on the plane. Kate is seated next to a slightly eccentric French man named Luc (Kevin Kline). He keeps Kate company during takeoff and when the plane sways, helping her get to Paris safely.

However, Luc, who seemed like a good guy, had been hiding something in Kate's bag to avoid being declared at immigration. It's not a love story that begins with love at first sight... but through a series of coincidences and mishaps, Luc ends up helping Kate get her lover back.

Through the journey, Kate learns and accepts things about herself that she didn't know, and becomes more and more attractive. A woman who was afraid of flying and didn't try to learn about the world discovers a world she had never known before and meets a new love. This is a movie about a journey of self-discovery that begins on an airplane.

Although the setting is airplanes and airports, the themes depicted are diverse. All of these films are filled with the actors' and production staff's thoughts about travel. Why not watch these films and think about your past and future travels?