Rolo on Tour

I will give you here some recommendations on books/movies and so on, which take place in the places/countries to which I have been on this trip.
If you think I should add a certain item, please let me know!

• Into the Wild (Book + Movie)

A young guy leaves everything behind, burns his possessions, his money and starts a life on the road. He later makes it to the wilderness of Alaska, but the result is a tragic ending…
The author of the book reconstructed the life of this guy and later a movie was made based on that book.
For me this story is about one’s quest for absolute freedom.

• The Motorcyle Diaries (Book + Movie)

Young Ernesto (Che) Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado go on a motorbike trip through various countries of South America.
An inspiring movie, I bet after seeing it you will feel the urge to go travelling.
The book (on which the movie was based) on the other hand I found not to be that exciting to read.

• Fitzcarraldo (Movie)

During the rubber boom period a guy wants to build an opera house in Iquitos, Peru like the one in nearby Manaus, Brazil. To achieve this he has got a crazy plan involving carrying a ship over a hill…
The most interesting facts about this movie are the stories around it:
First you have to note that they actually carried the ship over the hill without special effects.
Also it may be interesting that Mick Jagger originally had a role in that film – until the main actor got sick and had to be replaced by famous german actor Klaus Kinski. As a result they had to redo a lot of the filming and Mick’s character was left out.
Kinski was an eccentric guy who had a lot of rage attacks which intimidated the Indians playing in that movie. As a result one of their chiefs offered the director to kill him, but that offer was declined – the filming was not yet completed…

• Marching Powder (Book)

British drug trafficker Thomas McFadden gets arrested in Bolivia and has to go to jail. He ends up in San Pedro prison in La Paz and he soon discovers: This is not a normal prison…
An incredible (and true!!) story, you will not believe what you are about to read.
Highly recommended!

• The Mission (Movie)

It is the 18th century and the setting is the area around the Iguazu Falls. The Jesuit missions in that area are threatened by some treaty between spanish and portuguese colonialists and the resulting slave trade.
You can’t make a bad movie in these surroundings, especially when Robert de Niro is in it ;-).

• City of God (Movie)

About a group of kids who grow up in a favela in Rio de Janeiro among organized crime – soon becoming part of it…
Great authentic movie – but caution, it’s not for the faint-hearted.

• James Bond – Moonraker (Movie)

A James Bond movie which as usual takes place in various locations. I include it here, because among these are Rio de Janeiro (including a great scene on the sugar loaf cable car) and the Iguazu Falls.
The best part is right at the beginning the skydiving scene!

• Ong Bak (Movie)

The head of a buddha statue is stolen in a small village in Thailand. One of their villagers is sent to Bangkok to get it back…
An action movie with some cool fighting scenes that leave no breathing time for the viewer.

• The Beach (Book + Movie)

A backpacker hears on Khao San Road in Bangkok about a secret, idyllic beach in the Gulf of Thailand and decides to go there. He encounters a small community living there, whose biggest concern is keeping their beach a secret…
I liked the book a lot more, because the main theme is portrayed better:
If you found a paradise-like place (here: the beach) you want to share that with other people, because on your own you can hardly enjoy it.
But on the other hand you want to keep it a secret, because otherwise it will be soon a big tourist site crowded with people and the fun is over!

• The Killing Fields (Movie)

Cambodia 1975: The Khmer Rouge rise to power. The story evolves around an american journalist and his cambodian friend who struggles to survive this cruel time.

• Same same – but different (Movie)

A german movie about a backpacker and a cambodian prostitute who get to know each other in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and fall in love. One of the biggest tests for their relationship arises when she finds out that she has HIV…

• We can’t change the world. But we wanna build a school in Cambodia. (Movie)

About a group of japanese students, who dedicate themselves to building a school in Cambodia.
There were some moments in that film, that may be characteristic for japanese culture, because I did not get them. But all in all the movie gives you a good impression of Cambodia – showing you the beauty and the problems of it.

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