Name - The Beach
Released - 2000
Director - Danny Boyle
When you think about vacation or getaway movies, you may at first think of the classic but now very outdated Lampoon's Family Vacation. This film appears on TV every Christmas along with Home Alone and is now reserved for my nightmare film category instead.
But for me, there are maybe just two movies that lead in this category and the winner is far far ahead for me personally. The contender this week is The Hangover series. You have the guys on a stag, going to Vegas and then Bangkok, and getting into some fun adventures which is great easy going watching.
The winner however by a clear mile is for me The Beach starring one of my favorite actors, Big Head.. aka Leonardo Di Caprio. You can read more about why Leo is one of my favourite actors here.
It is hard to think that The Beach is now 22 years old and can still be called a classic after all this time. This is because it is a tough masterpiece to beat.
The young Leo, the raw backpacker experience, the beautiful beaches, the craziness of Thailand, the human rivalry, and the awesome soundtrack combine to bring this film to life.
What appealed to me about this film is that as a young person, I wanted to get out and explore the world and live the backpacker dream. Heading off to a faraway place with beautiful beaches and hot backpacker chicks was a perfect dream that many aspired to.
I see on youtube today, that many people who did literally pack their bags back then and head out to Thailand, didn't come back! Possibly this film was also an inspiration for them.
The performances of Tilda Swinton as Sal and Robert Carlyle as Daffy are also really moving. There is something about the presence and look of Tilda that she shines through in all her roles, not just in this film but in many of the films she has starred in. I particularly liked her in Constantine as Gabriel five years later.
Robert Carlyle as Daffy was brilliant and memorable. It sure made wanting to stay on the Khao San Road that much more desirable to wannabe travelers like myself! Robert was well known up until this point for having starred in a previous film by Boyle, Trainspotting. He played Begbie, an absolute nutter who just loved violence and fighting.
My own photo from the hotel I stayed in on the Khao San Road
► My favorite scene
Despite there being many great scenes in the film worthy of being my favourite. The scene that touched me the most was the ending where they swim off the island together and Richard looks back at his memories with everyone.
Video is linked to the music video copyrightholder on youtube source
The music and the photos showing the end of an era and returning to the rest of the world really stuck with me and made me want to go and seek out my own adventure.
Thanks for reading.
► Trailer:
Credits:
The title image was created by myself in canva using still shots from the officially released trailer source
Still images taken from the officially released trailer source
Used under fair-use section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976.
Photo from the D&D Inn on The Khao San Road is my own photo.
