Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005), The Endless Summer (1966), Kedi (2016), Karwaan (2018), Benjamin Smoke (2000), Russian Ark (2002), A Tuba to Cuba (2018), Looking for Richard (1996) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Cultural Exploration movies.
Storyline: Award-winning director Fatih Akin takes us on a journey through Istanbul, the city that bridges Europe and Asia, and challenges familiar notions of east and west. He looks at the vibrant musical scene which includes traditional Turkish music plus rock and hip-hop.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: music documentary, musical journey, multiculturalism, music history, documentary, music scene, art documentary ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: They call it The Endless Summer the ultimate surfing adventure, crossing the globe in search of the perfect wave. From the uncharted waters of West Africa, to the shark-filled seas of Australia, to the tropical paradise of Tahiti and beyond, these California surfers accomplish in a few months what most people never do in a lifetime...They live their dream. Director Bruce Brown creates a film so powerful it has become a timeless masterpiece that continues to capture the imagination of every new generation. When it first played in theaters, audiences lined up to see it again and again, spellbound by its thrilling excitement and awesome photography. But in fact, what's most compelling about the film is the sport of surfing itself, and once you've seen it, you'll never forget why.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: surfing, documentary, adventure, travel, beach, summer, freedom ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In the city of Istanbul, there are more than just human inhabitants. There are also the stray domestic cats of the city who live free but have complicated relationships with the people themselves. This film follows a selection of individual cats as they live their own lives in Istanbul with their own distinctive personalities. However, with this vibrant population, is the reality of an ancient metropolis changing with the times that may have less of a place for them.—Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
Plot Keywords: documentary, cats, animals, urban life, human-animal bond, independent film, heartwarming ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: The movie depicts a journey carried out from Bangalore to Kochi by two friends, the reserved Avinash played by Dulquer Salmaan, and his friend Shaukat played by Irrfan Khan with a lighter take on life, who pick up the chirpy teenager Mithila on the way.—Digant Nayak 96
Plot Keywords: adventure, comedy, drama, road movie, friendship, self-discovery, indian cinema ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: This highly unorthodox documentary follows the crooked path of Benjamin (no last name). He lives in a hidden neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia called "Cabbagetown." Drag-queen, speed-freak, all-around renegade, Benjamin left the straight (in every sense of the word) world behind a long time ago.
Plot Keywords: documentary, music, independent film, biography, rock, counterculture, lgbtq+ ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: An unseen man regains consciousness, not knowing who or where he is. No one seems to be able to see him, except the mysterious man dressed in black. He eventually learns through their discussions that this man is a 19th century French aristocrat, who he coins the "European". This turn of events is unusual as the unseen man has a knowledge of the present day. The two quickly learn that they are in the Winter Palace of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the European who has a comprehensive knowledge of Russian history to his time. As the two travel through the palace and its grounds, they interact with people from various eras of Russian history, either through events that have happened at the palace or through the viewing of artifacts housed in the museum. Ultimately, the unseen man's desired journey is to move forward, with or without his European companion.—Huggo
Plot Keywords: history, art, time travel, fantasy, experimental film, visual spectacle, european history ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A TUBA TO CUBA follows New Orleans' famed Preservation Hall Jazz Band as they retrace their musical roots from the storied city of jazz to the shores of Cuba. Along the way, they discover a deep cultural connection that transcends language, politics, color and creed. Join the band as they traverse post-embargo Cuba in search of the indigenous beats and rhythms that gave birth to New Orleans jazz. Dark, shared histories of slavery reveal an indelible cultural connection rooted in the hearts and minds of ancestors past. Encounters with some of Cuba's most iconic musicians give rise to both spontaneous and soulful collaborations. Living rooms, back alleys and cobbled stone streets soon bear witness to the connective power of music. Geopolitical divisions melt even further as the band encounters the struggles and hardships of their own city reflected in the streets of Cuba. It is as if they are one place and one people, born to combat despair, oppression, and poverty with ingenuity, humor, and - of course - music. As the journey draws to an end, Pres Hall calls on their Cuban counterparts and take to the streets of Havana in one last raucous musical romp that brings the city to its knees. Inspired and reinvigorated; Preservation Hall Jazz Band returns home to record their new album inspired by their journey, the profound effect of reconnecting with their roots forever shaping their lives and music. A Tuba to Cuba captures the triumph of the human spirit expressed through the universal language of music and challenges us to dig deeper. To find the common ground we all have inside us, and there, firmly plant the flag of brotherhood.—2017 NLF Productions
Plot Keywords: music documentary, jazz, new orleans, musical journey, musician biography, cross-cultural, music history ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Director Al Pacino juxtaposes scenes from Richard III, scenes of rehearsals for Richard III, and sessions where parties involved discuss the play, the times that shaped the play, and the events that happened at the time the play is set. Interviews with mostly British actors are also included, attempting to explain why American actors have more problems performing Shakespearean plays than they do.—Ron Kerrigan <mvg@whidbey.com>
Plot Keywords: documentary, shakespeare, drama, film production, actors, american film, director ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: The Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Pacific Ocean in a balsawood raft in 1947, together with five men, to prove that South Americans back in pre-Columbian times could have crossed the ocean and settled on Polynesian islands. After financing the trips with loans and donations, they set off on an epic 101-day-long trip across 8000 kilometers, while the world was waiting for the result of the trip. The film tells about the origin of the idea, the preparations, and the events on the trip. The "Kon-Tiki" was named after the Inca sun god, Viracocha, and "Kon-Tiki" is an old name for this god. Heyerdahl filmed the expedition, which later became the Academy Award winning documentary in 1951, and he wrote a book about the expedition that was translated into 70 languages and sold more than 50 millions copies around the world. Heyerdahl believed that people from South America could have settled Polynesia in pre-Columbian times, although most anthropologists now believe they did not...
Plot Keywords: adventure, history, biography, expedition, true story, norway, ocean ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Academy Award-winner Barbara Kopple directs this documentary portrait of Academy Award and Golden Globe-winner Woody Allen, seen traveling with friends and fellow musicians during their New Orleans jazz band's 1996 European tour. Allen's relationship with his wife Soon-Yi Previn is captured on film here for the first time, and others on the European jaunt include Allen's sister Letty Aronson. Followed by press, paparazzi, and gushing admirers, Allen returns home to face a more realistic critical assessment during "the lunch from hell" with his aged parents.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: documentary, music, jazz, biography, musician, concert, behind the scenes ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A homage to Bruce Weber's Favourite things, these being mixing film, photography and classic movies. With portraits of a lesbian jazz singer and a 16 year old wrestler.
Plot Keywords: documentary, photography, fashion, identity, art, portrait, new york ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: When the joker Tommy Tricker plays some practical jokes on some of his friends, his best friend Ralph, a stamp collector, discovers the secret of "stamp travel" to make him travel around the world on a stamp to bring back the mysterious Charles Merriweather, who never returned on a stamp for 75 years.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: adventure, fantasy, family, children's film, travel, magic, friendship ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: When this movie is made in 1956, one could circumnavigate the globe in a little less than two days. When Jules Verne wrote the story "Around the World in Eighty Days" in 1872, he predicted that one day man could accomplish the task in eighty hours, but which most considered folly to do in eighty days in current times, that is except for people like Englishman Phileas Fogg, a regimented man who believed all it would take is exacting work, the skills he possesses. He just has to make sure a train's schedule meets the required sailing schedule which meets the required coach schedule and so on. As such, he takes up what ends up being the highly publicized twenty thousand pounds sterling wager from his fellow members at the London Reform Club to do so, losing the bet which would ruin him financially. Along for the ride is Fogg's new, loyal and devoted valet, the recently arrived Latin immigrant, Passepartout, who possesses unusual skills which could be major assets, but whose all consuming...
Plot Keywords: adventure, comedy, family, classic, adaptation, academy awards, color film ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Traveling through the American South, documentarian Andrew Douglas trains his lens on Jim White, an alternative-country musician, as he performs in venues that range in variety from churches to coal mines. During this journey, White shares his experience of growing up in the Deep South, while Douglas interviews a number of other Southern musicians, artists and writers, attempting to gain a perspective on a unique culture that is often overlooked.
Plot Keywords: american south, documentary, music, religion, road movie, soul, poverty ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: James is an all American boy whose promising life is brought to a halt by acute depression. Turning his back on the most progressive western treatments and medicines, James discovers ayahuasca in search of healing in the Peruvian jungle. Over the course of 10 months venturing from Shaman to Shaman, James finds friendship, answers and a kind of redemption hidden deep in the Peruvian amazon.
Plot Keywords: documentary, adventure, spiritual journey, amazon, healing, depression, self-discovery ...
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