6 Movies Where People Moved To Foreign Countries And Found Happiness

Have you recently fantasized about permanently leaving America for some reason?

Have you been Googling “tropical islands good healthcare no authoritarianism” during your lunch breaks? Have you read about all the seething hate that locals feel towards remote workers in international locations and thought, “Wow tbh that doesn’t sound so bad?” Then this listicle is for you! 

For as long as humans have been telling stories, there have been examples of fictional travelers finding adventure abroad. See: Homer’s Odyssey. Also: the 2004 sex comedy Eurotrip. That said, Hollywood shares a fondness for Americans staying abroad, since this development sometimes goes hand-in-hand with hilarious and heartfelt scenes involving Diane Lane. With that in mind, we now recall Hollywood’s best stories about people moving to foreign countries and occasionally even staying there, blissfully happy for eternity.

1. Lost in Translation (2003)

Focus Features

Moving abroad, or even traveling abroad, requires a very particular set of skills. In addition to learning a new language – or at least ten words on Duolingo – you must adjust to the cultural norms of a new society. That could mean calibrating your usual level of formality in everyday interactions, or learning how to defend yourself with a baguette. Lost in Translation, as directed by Sofia Coppola, knows all of this. It’s also quite funny as it follows the friendship of Bob (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) as they bond over being Americans in Tokyo. Take notes!

2. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

Buena Vista

I remember this song called “Tuscany” by singer-songwriter Anja Kotar that came out during Covid lockdowns and tapped into a collective, frustrated desire to leave our bedrooms and “see Italy.” I blame her for the fact that I started revenge traveling in 2022 and never stopped, permanently converting to digital nomadism. I’m going on a tangent now. Why did I mention “Tuscany” again? Ah, because I was talking about Under the Tuscan Sun. It’s a delightful movie about Diane Lane moving to Italy and learning to live–and love–after a devastating loss. By the way, I was recently diagnosed with adult ADHD lol. 

3. The Painted Veil (2006)

Warner Independent

Whenever I Google “beautiful cinematography Naomi Watts” in my mind, this movie comes up. Not The Impossible or Mulholland Drive. Not 21 Grams or Birdman. This one! It’s maybe not Watts’s best movie, but it’s full of lovely Chinese landscapes, and expertly conveys the loneliness that expats experience when uprooted from their homes.

4. Casablanca (1942)

Warner Bros.

This movie’s famous lines and iconic stills overshadow the fact that it’s about an isolated and frustrated expat. Humphrey Bogart’s character is a disgruntled and disaffected – yet ultimately patriotic – American who fights for democracy during World War II. While it won’t exactly teach you how to get settled in a foreign country, it will at least give you some cool lines to say at dinner.

5. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

Fox Searchlight

This movie will sound like a surreal fantasy flick to any millennial reading this listicle. It’s about a group of older British folks who not only can afford to move into a retirement home in India, but do that. Affordable retirement? What’s that! I’ve already resigned myself to working for the rest of my life, including remotely from my hospice bed. On the other hand, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is also a cute dramedy that stars Judi Dench as a hapless woman experiencing painful culture shock while living in her country’s economically struggling and oppressed former colony. I’m not sure if this movie was intended to create schadenfreude, but it certainly does! 

6. Before Midnight (2013)

Sony Pictures

It’s been a while since I saw the Before trilogy, but I don’t remember any scenes involving Ethan Hawke living in – or even liking – the U.S. Throughout the series, his character remains a cinematic xenophile, to the point where he even marries a Frenchwoman and settles down in Paris. And that was before social media, so he didn’t do it for his personal brand! Anyway, there’s plenty of humor mined from the cultural differences between Hawke’s character, Jesse, and his amour Celine (Julie Delpy). Plus, if you ever decide to leave your own country for some reason, you’ll probably deal with some maddening cultural challenges of your own, so you’ll want to take notes (again).