Would you like to take a movie road trip across America? If yes, then it is great that you were thinking about it because that’s exactly what we are going to do! Our trip will be guided by 10 fantastic films that were filmed in different states of America. We will take the vast lands of Wyoming in our stride and, at the same time, get a little charm from the small houses of Massachusetts. These films might be seen as maps since they tell you which is the main theme of the place, the people, or that intangible feeling is, for instance, which lets you know that you are somewhere. In case you are a cinephile, a trivia lover, or simply looking for your next great watch, these choices are the best ones as they give a little bit of America, one shot at a time.
10. Wyoming – Wind River (2017)
Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River is not just a murder mystery but a terrifying tale of sorrow, survival, and unfairness in the snow-covered nature of Wyoming. It is the story of a wildlife tracker (Jeremy Renner) and an FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) who, while looking into a murder, find the reservation torn apart by trauma that goes far beyond the crime. The film’s wide, frostbitten images are gorgeous but suffocating as they not only show the emptiness but also the strength of the people living in that area. It’s a beautifully, though brutally, filmed reminder that the forces of nature and mankind aren’t necessarily different and that they can also be harsh.
9. South Carolina – The Notebook (2004)
Is there any place on earth that could be the source of love? The answer would most likely be the state of South Carolina. The Notebook, which is based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel, Seabrook Island, transforms into a movie that depicts the most romantic of summers and heartbreaks. The movie features the actors Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as Noah and Allie, characters who experience love at first sight amidst the Spanish moss, rowboats, and southern sunsets of this beautiful state. The movie is so powerful that, inevitably, you will have to fall in love and, thus, the tears will also be a must in your watch session. Almost 20 years later, it still stands as one of the most legendary romantic films ever created, combining the elements of love and tears in the most balanced way.
8. Rhode Island – Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Wes Anderson alone could transform Rhode Island into a pastel postcard seemingly from another planet. Moonrise Kingdom is his quirky love letter to childhood adventure, following the escapades of two young fugitives who run away from their small seaside town in the name of defiance and love. Apart from the lighthouses, rock coasts, and the meticulously constructed sets, it looks like a fairy tale brought to life. Beneath the dream, however, there is a melancholy, a reminder of what it means to grow up and find your place in a world that doesn’t always make sense.
7. Oregon – Wild (2014)
Wild is a deeply moving story of regret and subsequent personal growth set in the breathtaking wilderness of Oregon. Reese Witherspoon delivers an equally powerful performance as Cheryl Strayed, a female hiker who undertakes a solo journey of more than a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail to work through her grief. The film does not shy away from showing the tremendous physical challenge of the hike, and it also depicts the emotional transformation that comes with being alone. The vast forests and mountains of Oregon are not just pretty views; they are also integral to Cheryl’s change, a stark setting for a very human story about the struggle to come to terms with your past without being crushed by it.
6. North Carolina – Logan Lucky (2017)
Logan Lucky from Steven Soderbergh is a brilliant and crazy North Carolina heist comedy that locates us right in the heart of the state. With a mix of actors like Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig, the movie is about a group of blue-collar scoundrels who hatch a plan for a high-risk heist during a NASCAR event. The jabs are on point, the characters talk in authentic accents, and southern hospitality is there, too, all wrapped up. On top of the laughs, the movie offers a sharp class-conscious critique of luck and the grind of the hustle in a world socially stacked against you, all done in a beer-fueled, laid-back style.
5. New Mexico – Crazy Heart (2009)
Crazy Heart is a very few movies that can accurately represent the faded love of the American Southwest with such detail. Jeff Bridges is great and rightly earns the Oscar as Bad Blake, a down-and-out country star who is dragging the desert towns of New Mexico along with his bottle and his vulnerable side. One of the few bright things in dust and neon lights is his romance with a journalist (Maggie Gyllenhaal). The country music in the film, which is about falling, heartbreak, and salvation, was seemingly made by the very earth. Every bar, the roadside cafe, and the sunset drive convince you of that bittersweet truth: sometimes you have to lose sight of yourself before you can find your way back home.
4. New Jersey – Garden State (2004)
With Garden State, Zach Braff wrote a quietly moving picture of what it is like to come home after wandering too long. Set against the backdrop of suburban cul-de-sacs and gray skies, the film recounts a down-and-out actor (Braff) who goes back to New Jersey for his mom’s funeral and finds his way back to life with the help of an offbeat, free-spirited woman (Natalie Portman). The picture’s quirky humor, sweet moments, and indelible soundtrack define the indie spirit of 2000s cinema, and the bittersweet comfort of finding your way back home, imperfections and all.
3. Nebraska – Nebraska (2013)
Alexander Payne’s Nebraska is a dryly funny, sweet odyssey across America’s heartland, in grim black and white. Bruce Dern plays an elderly man who thinks he’s won a million-dollar sweepstakes and embarks on a road trip accompanied by his skeptical son (Will Forte). As they ride along deserted towns and fields, the film limns a poignantly bittersweet picture of small-town dreams and unspoken disappointments, and the messy love between fathers and sons. It’s heartwrenching and hilarious, a caution that even in the dullest of places, you might find tales worth hearing.
2. Missouri – Winter’s Bone (2010)
Generally, Toxic Bone or Winter’s Wrath is probably the most emotional and most haunting movie about Missouri, which is a story that Jennifer Lawrence led with a stunning performance before she became famous. As Ree Dolly, a girl who was determined to find her absent father and save her family’s home, Lawrence powerfully conveys both her strength and her vulnerability almost to the same extent. The film’s subdued color scheme, the nature vibe, and its rugged-realistic style, which is even quite rough at the border, all help to achieve an almost documentary-like atmosphere. The plot is fascinating, and it is mainly about survival, friendship, and the quiet bravery of facing the world when you only have your will.
1. Massachusetts – Little Women (2019)
Greta Gerwig’s Little Women is not only an inviting, lively, and lovable new interpretation of the immortal classic by Louisa May Alcott, but it is also a love letter from the director to the state of Massachusetts. Based on 19th-century Concord, the film depicts the March sisters’ walk through the life stages of growing up, fantasizing about, and eventually figuring out what being a woman really is. The movie is packed with warm fall light, old mansions, and snug rooms, none of which seem like a replacement but rather a picture. Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Timothée Chalamet are just right as Gerwig’s characters in the film, and with their energy and zeal, they convincingly show that only those tales of family, ambition, and love are never going to be old.
From snowstorms to sunsets, heartbreak to hope, these movies are proof that every corner of America has a story that deserves to be told. Whether you are drawn by the wild nature of the West, the Shore’s charm of New England, or the soulful rhythms of the South, movies allow us to experience it all without needing a plane ticket. So for your next film evening, why not let the map decide?