Picturesque Movie Locations and Their Languages

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Filming locations: Ireland, England, Iceland, Abu Dhabi, Scotland, and the United States.

Favourite scene location: 

Skellig Michael, an island off of the coast of County Kerry, Ireland, is where we finally, finally get to see Luke Skywalker at the very end of the film. The fandom went wild with the possibility of him turning to Rey to repeat the timeless line of "I am your father," and speculation will continue until the next installment!

Favourite scene local tongue:

Well, there is obviously English, so if you want to practice that, then by all means, please do. However, it is also possible for you to try your hand at the beautiful language that is Gaelic, so why not give that a go as well?

Tomorrowland

Filming locations: Spain, the United States, Canada, Bahamas, and France.

Favourite scene location:

Instead of a specific scene for this one, we were blown away by the overall look of the futuristic city in Tomorrowland. The arches of the Arts And Science Museum in Valencia, as well as the wider Santiago Calatrava complex it is part of, feature heavily as the backdrop and foundation of this location, making it both recognisable and prospective at once.

Favourite scene local tongue:

As well as what we think of as ‘regular’ Spanish, there is Valencian, which is useful to know a little of since many of the signs in the city are written in the Valencian language only.

The Hunger Games

Filming locations: Bet you didn't realise it, but the filming of Hunger Games took place in North Carolina, United States.

Favourite scene location: 

Take your pick! Although since so much of The Hunger Games was shot in and around North Carolina, you could take yourself on a little Panem tour without even leaving the state: starting at President Snow’s mansion in The Capitol, filmed at Swan House, and ending up in the Hob in District 12, shot at an abandoned yard in near-Eastside. May the odds be ever in your favour, and all that.

Favourite scene local tongue:

Interestingly, although English is a given for this particular location, Spanish is also spoken by around 59% of the population as well. Find yourself a tapas bar, and you’ll be ordering your cervezas fluently in no time!

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Grand Budapest Hotel

Filming locations: Potsdam, Germany.

Favourite scene location:

Do not be fooled by the title of this film, since no actual filming took place in Budapest! The fictional eastern European city of Zubrowka was mostly filmed on location at studios just outside of Berlin, with the Gorlitzer Warenhaus in Görlitz playing the role of the exterior of the fictitious hotel.

Favourite scene local tongue:

Here’s the place to go if you’d like to practice your German, naturally, but you will also find the Slavic language Sorbian. Sorbian is actually one of the four recognised local languages spoken in this area of Germany, which if nothing else is a fun fact to add to your pub quiz if you’re planning on holding one.

Inception

Filming locations: France, Morocco, England, Los Angeles, and Japan.

Favourite scene location:

Leonardo Dicaprio’s character Cobb wakes up in Mombasa, Kenya, which was filmed in the Old Souk of Tangier in northern Morocco. Either way, it is a very beautiful location, and we want to visit immediately.

Cobb: They say we only use a fraction of our brain's true potential. Now that's when we're awake. When we're asleep, we can do almost anything.

Favourite scene local tongue:

There is a wealth of languages to choose from in Morocco. French is the unofficial spoken language, as you would probably already presume. But as well as this, there are two official languages, which are Arabic and Berber. To confuse matters, Darija, which is the Moroccan dialect of Arabic, is possibly the most likely language to be understood by locals. On top of this, there are also five million Spanish speakers living in Morocco, and English is rapidly becoming the second foreign language of choice. Spoilt for choice!

 

Lord Of The Rings

Filming location: New Zealand.

Favourite scene location:

We can’t pick just one, precious! We love them all. But if we have to, we will say that the set for Edoras, which was built on Mount Sunday, is one of the most stunning places that we would like to visit.

Theoden: I have left instruction. The people are to follow your rule in my stead. Take up my seat in the Golden Hall. Long may you defend Edoras if the battle goes ill.

Favourite scene local tongue:

Officially, of course, there is English. There is also the beautiful Māori, and we’re putting in a word for both Quenya and Sindarin Elvish as well, although we’re not sure which elves will be available to teach you. Field trip to Mirkwood, anyone?

Skyfall

Filming locations: England, China, Turkey, and Japan.

Favourite scene location:

The major chase scene between Bond and Patrice took place in Istanbul, with the scenery in the background so distracting that we found ourselves wanting to watch the scene over and over again, just in case we missed something.

James Bond: [fighting Patrice] Who's got the list? Who are you working for?

Favourite scene local tongue:

Turkish is the main language as you would expect, although you may also find speakers of French since there are a lot of French loanwords in the Turkish language.

The Godfather (part 3)

Filming locations: Italy, New York, and New Jersey.

Favourite scene location:

The enigmatic scene of Michael’s return to Sicily was filmed at the long-disused Palermo Town Hall.

Michael Corleone: [voiceover] My dear children: It is now better than several years since I moved to New York, and I haven't seen you as much as I would like to. I hope you will come to the ceremony of papal honors given for my charitable work. The only wealth in this world is children; more than all the money, power on earth, you are my treasure.

Favourite scene local tongue:

As well as Italian, there is Sicilian, and the regional Palermitano dialect to get to grips with.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Filming locations: England, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, and Bangladesh.

Favourite scene location:

The shipyard where the Avengers go to track down Ultron in the fictitious African city of Wakanda was actually filmed at the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard in Bangladesh.

Tony Stark: What's the vibranium for?

Ultron: I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan...

[blasts Stark]

Favourite scene local tongue:

Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh, and there are many different dialects of Bengali spoken there.

We don’t know about you, but the idea of a travel route based on the locations of our favourite films sounds like a great way to take travelling to a new level. Where would you like to go?