For TBC’s Video Mix series, our team of movie and TV experts makes recommendations so that you’re never stuck with a million streaming services and nothing to watch.
Road stories have captivated audiences since the advent of storytelling; a desire for movement and exploration is practically baked into human nature. These five films take to the road to share the realities of wanderlust, whether the journeys are self-directed or imposed upon characters by forces beyond their control.
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Paris, Texas (1984)
When we first meet the dusty Travis Henderson (played by Harry Dean Stanton in top form), he’s drifting through a desolate West Texas landscape for what appears to very possibly be eternity. Over the course of the film—co-written by the late, great Sam Shepard—the details of the schism that led him into the desert trickle out in a clear-eyed exploration of the textures of love, jealousy, guilt, pain, and damnation. (Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz even wrote a strip that seems at least partly inspired by the film).
Where to watch: Criterion
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Vagabond (1985)
Iconic French director Agnès Varda’s film begins at the end, with its titular wanderer Mona frozen to death in a ditch. Varda retraces the path that led Mona to her end with piercing clarity and without embellishment, in the process creating one of the silver screen’s most complex and uncompromising protagonists. Vagabond’s investigation of the true meaning of freedom and the consequences that can accompany its expressions leaves an indelible mark.
Where to watch: Criterion
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Nomad: Following in the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin (2019)
Werner Herzog’s mythic status comes in no small part from his seemingly inexhaustible drive for adventure. Herzog found a kindred spirit in the stories, photographs, and friendship of travel writer Bruce Chatwin, who died of AIDS in his late 40s. In this documentary, Herzog follows the trails Chatwin traced through his personal life and books like In Patagonia and The Songlines, celebrating the perpetual nomad’s singular body of work.
Where to watch: Mubi
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Nomadland (2020)
Chloé Zhao’s meditative 2020 Oscar-winner follows Frances McDormand as Fern, a widow who loses her job at a US Gypsum plant and opts to live in a van while working seasonal gigs. While the story paints a bleak portrait of 21st-century America, Fern also finds an abundance of tender connection in the people she encounters, with McDormand turning in an unassuming yet utterly heart-rending performance.
Where to watch: Hulu
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EO (2022)
Although it’s difficult to deny the inherent cuteness of a donkey (any donkey!), Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO, told from the perspective of one such beast of burden, is many degrees more affecting—and funny—than viewers might expect. EO makes his way through trials, tribulations, and triumphs, buoyed by stunning cinematography and economic storytelling. On the human side of things, the incomparable Isabelle Huppert has a commanding turn as the Countess.
Where to watch: Criterion
Further watching
Federico Fellini’s La Strada (1954); Terrence Malick's Badlands (1973); Kevin Smith’s Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (2001); Andrea Arnold’s American Honey (2016); Melina Matsoukas’ Queen & Slim (2019); Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All (2022)
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