Road Movies
In the guise of a comedy or drama, a thriller or romance, the road movie acts as a metaphor for life where during the course of the running time, the characters lives are changed forever by the journey that they are taking. People go through love, loss, redemption and salvation. They are on the road of discovery, learning about themselves and adjusting to the changes and hurdles that the road throws up at them. Finally, there is the destination, the goal which makes the journey worthwhile, where closure is provided and a final catharsis occurs; the literal end of the road.
However, if this sounds like too much hard work for you and you just want some good, honest car chases with burning rubber and squealing tires, then look no further than "Car Chase Movies". Just click on the link at left.
Pictured: Kowalski and his Dodge Challenger in 'Vanishing Point'.
Wendy and Lucy (2008)
7.1/10
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: Michelle Williams, John Robinson, Will Oldham, Will Patton
The intimate tale of Wendy (Michelle Williams), sick of her unappreciated life in Indiana, who packs up her car and her dog, Lucy, and heads off for a... Read more
Near Dark (1987)
7/10
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Lance Henriksen, Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Bill Paxton
A young man, after being bitten, becomes a travelling companion with a nomadic group of vampires, and all the while his father and sister search relen... Read more
Old Joy (2006)
6.7/10
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: Will Oldham, Daniel London, Tanya Smith
The deeply intimate and realistic story of two estranged friends who go on a camping trip in Oregon's Cascade Mountains. Mark is an armchair liberal w... Read more
As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me (2001)
7.4/10
Director: Hardy Martins
Starring: Bernhard Bettermann, Michael Mendl, Irina Pantaeva
Captured while fighting in World War II, German soldier Clemens Forell (Bernhard Bettermann) escapes the hell of his confinement in a Siberian labor c... Read more
The Rover (2014)
6.4/10
Director: David Michod
Starring: Guy Pearce, Scoot McNairy, Robert Pattinson
The promise of Australian director David Michôds debut feature, Animal Kingdom, is amply realized in The Rover, a post-apocalyptic road movie of sort... Read more
Easy Rider (1969)
7.4/10
Director: Dennis Hopper
Starring: Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Peter Fonda, Phil Spector
Counter-culture road movie with Dennis Hopper (also directing) and Peter Fonda getting out their choppers to travel across the Southwest. On their wa... Read more
The Road (2009)
7.3/10
Director: John Hillcoat
Starring: Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker, Robert Duvall, Viggo Mortensen, Kodi...
Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee are featured in this epic post-apocalyptic tale of the survival of a father and his young son as they journey acr... Read more
Cold Fever (1994)
7.1/10
Director: Fridrik Thor Fridriksson
Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Lili Taylor, Fisher Stevens
This Jarmusch-like comic road movie charts the adventures of Atshushi (Masatoshi Nagase), a Japanese businessman who decides to go to Iceland and trek... Read more
The Doom Generation (1995)
6/10
Director: Gregg Araki
Starring: James Duval, Rose McGowan, Johnathon Schaech
Writer-director Gregg Araki knocks off 'Natural Born Killers' with this tale of three teen slackers who go on a cross-country sex-and-violence spree,... Read more
Exils (2004)
Director: Tony Gatlif
Starring: Romain Duris, Lubna Azabal, Leila Makhlouf
Tony Gatlif's 'Exils', is an exuberant, free-wheeling, heartfelt journey swimming like a salmon against the traditional migrant tide of the Franco-Alg... Read more