World's 12 Best Travel Movies

The French may not have given us schadenfreude, but have anyone's misadventures ever proved as hilarious as those of Monsieur Hulot, the hapless Frenchman on vacation? Jacques Tati, the writer, director, and eponymous hero of this cult classic, is in sublime form as the charming beanpole Monsieur Hulot, who causes unintentional mayhem whichever way he turns during a stint in Saint-Marc-sur-Mer on the Atlantic coast. Those who thought only the British were hidebound by class will enjoy the affectionate satire on the rigid postwar hierarchies of France. Everyone gets it in the neck, from overfed capitalists to posturing intellectuals. Two hours of unforgettable slapstick. Among the numerous highlights, Hulot's madcap canoeing expedition is priceless.