Watchlist: Curators' Picks - Remote Locations

In truth, this isn’t an easy film to recommend – not because I don’t love it, I do! – but being so tricky to summarize and describe, it’s hard to explain just what it is exactly I’m suggesting you watch. Broadly, it’s about a middle-class couple who up sticks from the city, moving with their two small children to rural Mexico. What it is, undeniably, is gorgeous to look at: the landscape photography has a vivid, almost hallucinatory, quality and the family’s remote mountainside home (the director’s own) has heavy Elle Décor appeal.

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Based on the New York Times bestselling memoir of the same name, the film follows Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon) as she hikes over a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in the US; without training and utterly alone. Witherspoon carries the film brilliantly, but it is Jean-Marc Vallée’s delicate and inventive direction that makes this one quite so compelling. Just as he did for Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects, here Vallée takes another complex, female driven drama and illustrates the lead character’s interior world wordlessly, with seamless transitions to memories in the form of flashbacks.

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In 1902, three generations of Gullah women, descendants of West African slaves, living on an island off the coast of South Carolina, consider an imminent migration to the mainland in Julie Dash’s beautiful, contemplative masterpiece. The remoteness of the island created a beautifully preserved world of Gullah culture, inspired by the traditions of the women’s ancestors. The film’s powerful musings on history, heritage, resilience and resistance, excellent performances and extraordinary visual flourishes create a unique piece of cinematic storytelling. It also went on to inspire Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade.

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A monastery at the heart of the Atlas Mountains in northern Algeria is the backdrop of this emotive drama. It follows a small group of French Cistercian monks who face a growing threat from Muslim fundamentalists. Religion, nationalism, fundamentalism and a generous amount of humanism play out in Xavier Beauvois film, based on a true story taking place during Algeria’s turbulent 1990s. Its melodramatic tunes might be overstated but the human tragedy on the backdrop of breath-taking remote surroundings, resonates long after its sombre end. 

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This film has been a real favourite of my kids during lockdown and has helped us settle many a ‘what to watch next’ argument. The story follows a group of young friends travelling to the Himalayas to return a lost yeti to his family. Their journey is infused with magic and music, the animation is spectacular and the talented voice cast raise what could have been a generic ‘overcoming your fears’ narrative into something much deeper and heartfelt. Age recommendation: 5+

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