Sonia Bugajska

There’s something rebellious about road trips. You decide to run away from your ordinary life: responsibilities, expectations, maybe even someone. You leave everything behind and focus only on the road, the changing scenery, and the search for a gas station with burnt coffee. Some road trips have a meaning or a goal, but sometimes they are simply about finding yourself again. That’s why I love films that capture the art of a good road trip. The constantly changing landscape alters the characters: they rediscover who they are, rekindle relationships, and focus on what truly matters. Here are four of my favorite road trip movies.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

Directed by Riddley Scott, Thelma & Louise envelop us in a story about two best friends, Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon), who decide to go on a weekend road trip. While Thelma slowly discovers her independence, Louise’s strengths guide them, revealing to us two opposite yet complimentary characters. A peaceful getaway takes a sudden turn as they become fugitives running from law. The movie explores the human desire for freedom through the perspective of two women. It portrays female friendship during hardships while taking us on a journey through the beautiful landscapes of the American Southwest. It argues that a woman’s true freedom comes when she escapes the boundaries of law and convention. The movie is filled with symbolism and jokes, and the ending leaves us with reflections.

Source: https://www.afi.com/news/thelma-louise-afi-movie-club/

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Little Miss Sunshine, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, is a unique family movie. The film centers a dysfunctional Hoover family which tries their hardest to make it to California for Olive’s (Abigail Breslin) child beauty pageant despite encountering many obstacles. This family is utter chaos. There’s the overworked mother Sheryl (Toni Collette) and her husband Richard (Greg Kinnear), a man with big dreams but little success. Their children are Dwayne (Paul Dano), who has taken a vow of silence until he becomes a pilot, and Olive, an aspiring beauty queen. Temporarily living with them are Cheryl’s suicidal brother Frank (Steve Carell) and Richard’s father Edwin (Alan Arkin), who was kicked out of a nursing home for taking heroin. This story presents us with a realistic family portrayal: a bunch of different people who lack the ability to communicate in a healthy way. Despite initially posing barriers, this journey unites them all as they have one goal. In the old yellow van, we accompany the characters through comical moments, difficult conversations, and clashes with their pasts. The film also speaks on unrealistic beauty standards and how problematic child beauty pageants are. This movie is definitely a must watch for family movie night.

Source: https://marudzenie.pl/little-miss-sunshine-recenzja/

Bones and All (2006)

Bones and All, directed by Luca Guadagnino, is not your typical meet-cute travelling together movie. It tells a story about a teenage girl, Marren (Taylor Russel) abandoned by her father when she turns 18 due to her cannibalistic tendencies. She sets herself a goal to find her mother. As she travels through the early 1980s America, she meets various people including Lee (Timothee Chalamet). He is another teen who shares her fate in being an outcast and a cannibal. She joins him in his blue truck on their Midwestern road-trip as they develop feelings for each other. From the breathtaking cinematography to the great soundtrack, this movie oozes raw energy. It feels like you are watching something you are not supposed to. Their relationship is portrayed as something very humane yet, at the same time, animalistic. The theme of cannibalism is considered by many as a metaphor for love or addiction. It’s something for the viewers to interpret on their own. The ending leaves you speechless.

Unpregnant (2020)

Unpregnant, directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, may be aimed at a younger female audience, but its story resonates far beyond its target. It tells the story of two childhood friends brought back together by unexpected circumstances. When Veronica (Haley Lu Richardson) finds out she is pregnant at seventeen, she quickly decides to get an abortion, determined not to let the situation change her future. In Missouri, where she lives, anyone under eighteen needs parental consent, something impossible for her religious family to accept. The nearest clinic is in New Mexico, and with no car and only one weekend before her parents find out, time becomes her biggest obstacle. With her boyfriend and closest friends failing to help, Veronica turns to her estranged best friend Bailey (Barbie Ferreira), an outspoken outsider unafraid to be herself. When Veronica shows up at her doorstep asking for a ride to Albuquerque, Bailey hesitates but eventually agrees. Together they set off on a fourteen-hour journey filled with unexpected encounters and constant setbacks. Yet the hardest part of the trip is not the road itself, but rebuilding a friendship torn apart by anger, distance, and regret. What makes the film stand out is its almost casual approach to abortion. It is not treated as a dramatic moral dilemma. Veronica never doubts her decision, and the procedure is presented as a normal part of healthcare. Beneath its humor and light tone, the film explores female friendship, self-discovery, and access to reproductive rights. Despite its heavy themes, the story remains warm, funny, and surprisingly sincere.