These Best Picture Oscars that took us to the four corners of the world

“It's not the reality that counts in a film, but what the imagination can do with it

,” said Charlie Chaplin.

From what we see in the dark rooms often arise the desire to discover the world.

The latest figures prove it:

, directed by Martin McDonagh, provoked an irresistible desire for Ireland, and in particular to discover the Aran Islands, where the film was shot, nominated in nine categories for the Oscars this year.

The online travel agency Opodo has noted a 68% increase in flight bookings to Dublin since its cinema release in December 2022.

And it's not the only feature film to have shaped our imagination.

Several Best Picture Oscar winners have taken us on a journey across five continents.

On the occasion of the 95th Academy Awards, which takes place this March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, a brief overview of this (great) backpacking cinema.

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Casablanca

's Morocco

(1944)

The Hassan II Mosque is one of the emblematic places of

, Morocco.

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Michael Curtiz's film, shot in the midst of World War II, is often described as one of cinema's greatest love stories.

It takes us to a troubled time, where the city of Casablanca is controlled by the Vichy government.

The presence of Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart anchors the film in a legendary timelessness.

If the city seems the first spectator of this thwarted love, the shooting has in fact never taken place in the Moroccan city.

The vast majority of the film's scenes were shot at Warner Studios in California.

The France of

An American in Paris

(1952)

Paris remains a fantasy for many filmmakers around the world.

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It's hard not to whistle the tunes of

.

Vincente Minnelli's musical certainly shows us a very American vision of Paris.

A fantasized image whose magic we nevertheless perceive, thanks to the sets reconstituted in the studio.

Only the first minutes of the film were actually shot in the City of Light.

Not enough to undermine our pleasure in front of the colorful interpretations of Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron.

West Side Story

's New York

(1962)

Manhattan is home to the murky history of

.

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If the Big Apple has always been a mecca for cinema, both in terms of its aesthetics and its history, it takes on a whole new dimension in this legendary musical.

Because it is the place of a love story with Shakespearean airs, that of Maria and Tony, engaged in gang rivalries.

If like many films of the time,

was partly made in the studio, the film crew still settled on the West Side of Manhattan to shoot the famous opening sequence.

Lawrence of Arabia

's Desert

(1963)

Jordan was one of the filming locations for

.

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Magic plans whose beauty we can only admire.

achieves a legendary tour de force in the history of cinema: making the desert the full character of a film, whose beauty and violence constitute striking narrative arcs.

The sequences of David Lean's film set in the desert were shot in the province of Almería, Spain, but also in Jordan, inaugurating a cinematographic tradition in the region.

Gandhi

's India

(1983)

The Aga Khan Palace, where Gandhi was imprisoned.

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Richard Attenborough's biopic takes the side of retracing the life of an emblematic figure: Gandhi, one of the main actors of the independence of India in 1947. Through the journey of the spiritual guide, we also discover a pan of the country's history, whose contrasting landscapes we admire.

The shooting of

was epic, both for the richness of the script, which took the team to remote corners of India, and for the extreme temperatures (they could reach 44°C).

The Vienna of

Amadeus

(1985)

Vienna, a city associated with Mozart.

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Trace the life of Mozart through the eyes of his greatest rival, Antonio Salieri.

' Great Challenge

, directed by Miloš Forman.

For once, if the film plunges us back into a Vienna quivering to the sound of a sick Mozart, the film was actually shot in Prague.

We would be wrong.

Kenya from

Out of Africa

(1986)

Kenya served as the setting for

.

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Sydney Pollack's film immerses us in a colonial atmosphere, that of East Africa, just before the First World War.

If it depicts a love story between Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, the gaze quickly moves to the breathtaking Kenyan landscapes.

A spellbinding photograph that contributed to the success of the feature film, which won seven Oscars.

China of the

Last Emperor

(1988)

The Forbidden City in China hosted the filming of The

in an exceptional way .

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Bernardo Bertolucci's masterpiece takes us into a piece of Chinese history.

That of the life of its last emperor: Puyi, whose destiny will be involved in the disorders of the time.

The film takes us behind the scenes of the Forbidden City, the famous Chinese imperial city.

It is also within it that the feature film was shot.

It took the team three years to get the permissions.

A work that has been widely rewarded with nine Oscars.

The Wild West of

Dances with Wolves

(1991)

Dances with Wolves

was filmed in South Dakota (photo).

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With

, Kevin Costner introduces us to the culture of the Plains Indians, but also the landscapes that inhabit their territory.

A sublime return to nature, which allows us to dive into the Wild West.

The feat is significant because the actor, to close his budget, had to pay a large sum.

A game that was worth the candle.

Nomadland

's America

(2021)

Chloé Zhao notably filmed

in Nebraska.

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It's hard not to fall in love with

.

Through the journey of Fern, a woman who became a nomad after the death of her husband and the loss of her job, Chloé Zhao invites us to travel the United States with another point of view.

That of people on the margins of a system.

The opportunity to paint a moving portrait of a woman, sublimated by the landscapes of America.