The past week has been filled with emotional ups and downs for many American citizens. Here in the Changuris household we don’t hide that we’re pretty liberal, so the results of the election really disappointed us. We, like many others were, looking for an escape. No, not a move to Canada (although Amanda was one of the many people crashing the Canadian immigration site on Tuesday), but more of a mental escape. We like finding our escape in TV and film (and alcohol — if we’re being honest) but we’re going to keep this post to cinema. We took a look at some of the great movies and one TV show that can help anyone escape from an unwelcome reality for a while.

5. The Endless Summer
A classic documentary from 1966 about two surfers, Michael Hynson and Robert August, who go on an around-the-world surfing adventure. They chase the sun and warm weather around the world across the equator and back again. A instrumental soundtrack and a calm dulcet tones of the narration relaxes you like a day at the beach. You could put it on a loop and do housework; come back to it at any point during the day and just sit and watch the idealistic scenery roll by.

4.Long Way Down
Ewan McGregor (yes, the dreamy actor with the amazing smile from Moulin Rouge) and Charley Boorman, a travel writer and motorcycle enthusiast, ride their motorcycles from Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa. On the ride-along we get to see amazing scenery and meet some colorful people. The two riders traveled through 18 countries on their trip in this six-episode documentary. You can watch one a night and imagine yourself just leaving everything behind and hitting the road, or many cases the dirt path that has only a fair resemblance to a road.

3. Eat, Pray, Love
The first dramatization on our list is this adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir Eat, Pray, Love. Julia Roberts stars as Liz Gilbert, a woman who realizes how unhappy she is in her life and decides to travel as a means of self-discovery. She decides that she will travel to three places and have extended stays in an effort to challenge herself into determining what is important to her. Gilbert visits Italy, India, and Bali. The photography of the locations is excellent and is well worth a watch. The story is classified as a romantic comedy, but really doesn’t feel like it. I believe the “love” part is more about accepting one’s self.

2. A Good Year
A Good Year is the story of Max Skinner (Russell Crowe), a London Banker who returns to his uncle Henry’s vineyard in Provence, France after his uncle’s death. Although he was the only family Max ever had, he and his uncle were estranged. Max decides to he wants to sell the estate as quickly as he can and return to his high-pressure high-rise living life in London. We watch Max take a journey through nostalgia as he remembers that every happy memory he ever had happened while living at the vineyard. The scenery is beautiful and peaceful; the comedic parts are pretty good too. It proves you can go home again, you just have to open yourself to the possibility.

1. Gravity (I know you thought we’d say Under the Tuscan Sun….)
The story revolves around Earth (Ha! Space humor!). Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) survives a space disaster that leaves her floating in orbit. The story is a tense one and you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat the entire time as Stone faces a series of decisions all of which could lead to her death. We mention this film because of the breathtaking views of Earth. You get to see the Earth from above as a small planet in the vastness, where the political borders on our maps don’t exist.