Movies that make scenic places look ugly?

Speaking of Sweden... although for the most part, I wouldn't say Ingmar Bergman made his home country look ugly, it does look dark and moody. And I thought of a few more... "Hunger" for Copenhagen as a filthy slum. "Malperthuis" for Ghent as a run-down center of Gothic horror. "De Alzheimer Zaak", "Dossier K", "Linkeroever" and the Belgian TV show "Zone Stadt" for bringing out Antwerp's gritty side.

For an example currently in theaters (and a movie that had several Oscar nominations), how about "Biutiful", with Javier Bardem? It's a good movie, but makes Barcelona look like a grim third-world city.

How about movies or pictures that can make a place look better than it is? I am a photographer, so I guess I could be guilty of that....Haven't seen The American, but they must have worked hard to make Tuscany look bad.

The reason I asked my question this way is because I have seen countless posts about movies that make places desirable to visit. Yet I cannot recall any discussion about movies that present a more complex picture of scenic places. I am not trying to discourage travel to these places, but I am interested in movies that present popular places in a different light.

and I thought the cinematography was the best part about "The American", definitely something that made me want to go and visit the region. Movies that choose "scenic places" for locations do so for a reason and that's because that place reflects a special atmosphere. And with a decent photographer that still comes through no matter what the plot is like. It's a different story with films where the location is chosen for a different reason that is not based on the "scenic" value of that location. Case in point are British crime shows. Ian Rankin's Rebus mystery series is set in Edingburgh, a place I thought I would like to visit. But the parts of the city shown in the films based on his books are definitely the seedy parts that no tourist would find attractive. Come to think of it, many films set in Britain seem to fit the bill if they aren't meant to be historical costume shows a la Jane Austen. I recently watched "The Damned United" (director Tom Hooper who also did "The King's Speech") and really didn't see anything in there attracting me for a trip to England.

Not a movie, but the original (British) version of The Office. Not a lot of outdoor shots, but when they did, they were depressing (which I am sure was by design). Never a funnier TV show (although Father Ted gives it a run for the money).

This is actually pretty common in European movies, particularly when the subject matter involves crime or social issues. American films that take place in Europe usually use the continent as a scenic backdrop ("We're in Paris, there's the Eifel Tower", or 'I'm in Italy, there's a sun-drenched Tuscan villa"). For example, most of the late Theo Van Gogh's films took place in Amsterdam. You won't see any canals or tulips, but you'll see plenty of dingy housing estates, warehouses and industrial parks. I seem to recall that both "La Femme Nikita" and "The 400 Blows" took place mostly in Paris. The city never looked more sinister. I love Ghent, but the version of the city you see in "Ben X" looks dark and oppressive. And in "Der Baader-Meinhoff Komplex", there's no fachwerk villages to be seen anywhere. Actually, when I think about it, this is pretty common in US movies as well. Would anyone want to visit NY after watching "Dog Day Afternoon", "Taxi Driver" or "The French Connection"?

It wasn't a movie, but a book for me. I read "Notes from a Small Island" after hearing several folks on here sing its praises. I didn't finish it. To me, he was whining on about how disappointing all the towns were. I kept wishing he would go home and quit complaining. I've read other books of his, and especially loved "A Walk in the Woods". But "Small Island", I couldn't put it down quick enough.

After I saw Slumdog Millionaire, I crossed India off my travel list.

"Hostel" by Quentin Tarantino makes the Czech Republic look like hell on earth.

I thought the series "Wallander" with Kenneth Branagh made Sweden look terribly dreary. Or maybe I was influenced by the depressing subject matter.

"The Full Monty" made that part of England look ugly--but of course the point was to make the recession look so bad that the boys put on a strip show. An episode of "House Hunters International" made me not want to go to Stockholm. "Amazing Race" made me want to go to Dubrovnik, Romania, Prague..etc, but episodes of AR also made me question whether India should be on my bucket list.

Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren shows the ugly side of England that's for sure.

kpf is spot on - "Hostel" makes Cezky Krumlov appear very depressing, but it's a charming town. "Schindler's List" makes Krakow appear gloomy, but it's actually a very beautiful city. There was also a movie (can't remember name) that makes Bratislava look bad, but again another nice historic city. How a place is presented in a movie doesn't influence my travel plans, as the movie might not have even been filmed in the place portrayed.

2009's "The Tourist" didn't really show Venice off in a good light and I assume that is pretty hard. I much prefer 1955's "Summertime".

To Frank: Hostel was really filmed in Cesky Krumlov but it was supposed to be Bratislava. The movie where Bratislava looked bad was probably Euro Trip but that was all filmed in Prague.

The Hungarian film, "Kontrol", takes place entirely underground in Budapest's subway system - and not in any of the nicer stations like those along Andrassy. It was a great film, but I'm glad I saw it after I had already been or I would have been put off. Also, was anyone else disappointed in the scenery in "Angels and Demons"? I went with my mom, looking forward to pointing out all the sites I had seen, hoping to prove to her how beautiful Rome is, (she's not big on Europe...how are we related?) and found myself feeling the need to justify my enthusiasm for a place that appeared in the movie to be dirty and scruffy. I don't think that was Ron Howard's intention, but that's how it looked to me.

"No Country for Old Men" in Texas.
"28 Days Later" in London. The only scenery in "The American" worth watching is...George Clooney.

Run Lola Run....Berlin Trainspotters.....Edinburgh

Eat, Pray, Love certainly did nothing to encourage me to want to visit Rome, India ( especially India ) or Bali.

Run Lola Run??? That's one of my alltime favourite movies and part of the reason is that it really really made me want to see Berlin again!!! I could see glimpses of the old Berlin that I knew from a visit in 1981 and some of the changes that made me really interested to see more.

Run Lola Run??? That's one of my alltime favourite movies and part of the reason is that it really really made me want to see Berlin again!!! I could see glimpses of the old Berlin that I knew from a visit in 1981 and some of the changes that made me really interested to see more.

I actually want to go to Bali after the movie Eat, Pray, Love...despite the fact that I disliked the book. I went to see the movie to watch the scenery in Italy, which really fell short for me... but, not having been to Bali it might not have done it justice.

RLR is one of my favorite movies too. I didn't mean to imply that I wouldn't visit Berlin because of Run Lola Run. I have and enjoy it very much. I'm saying it's a great movie that shows the ugly side of the city. Having said that, it's not really about the city. I think the filmmakers went out of there way not to show any major landmarks as the messages are so universal...it could have taken place anywhere

After watching "Mamma Mia" my friend said it made her want to go to Greece. I said "Really? Because it LOOKED like it was filmed in a soundstage in New Jersey!" I did not think the scenery was very beautiful...except the hilltop chapel at the end.

While the Bicycle Thief is a great movie, the Rome scenery looked very bleak. I recognized nothing except possibly the Tiber in one scene.

My minds image of Germany was formed from all those post WWII film noir spy flicks. Is Germany still black and white and overcast and damp?

I would imagine the filmmakers are simply going for "authenticity" than any desire to be malicious and make a place look ugly. Trainspotting HAD to show the ugly side of Scotland or what's the point? As a tangent, one thing about American films that makes my blood boil is the way EVERYONE has the exact same accent regardless of where the movie takes place. I'm guessing this is so the non-American audience can better understand what is being said and the film can be marketed to a world wide audience. I used to wonder why Europeans tend to think all Americans sound the same, but now I know. :-(

"Is Germany still black and white and overcast and damp?" There's color over here now, but the overcast and damp part still holds.

Susan- Yes The Bicycle Thief is a great movie, and Rome is portrayed as very grim and bleak in the black and white film. We love to wander the backstreets of Rome and found one of the streets that was in the movie not far from crossing the Tiber at Castel Sant'Angelo.

In my opinion The Red Balloon makes Paris look like a slum. But, it was filmed in the mid-50's. Thankfully I experienced Paris before seeing the film. Milan was a surprise. For a city that is supposedly conscious of good design I found the architecture to be very dull. I'm sure if you look hard enough you can find the "run-down" part of any city. They all have them. It just depends on how much "run-down" you can stand?

Roy, I can imagine seeing "The Third Man" would give you a bleak and dreary view of Vienna since the film was shot in 1949. Great film on character study, especially if you understand German with the Viennese accent, and scenes of post-war Vienna. But don't let those gloomy black and white scenes of Vienna along with the rubble deter you from going to that enchanting place!

I was referring to movies set in the past 20 years, not movies from the post-war period, like "The Third Man," one of my favorite movies, or even more recent movies set in that period. I first saw Vienna in 1968, and it had already recovered quite well from the war. (Edit: I originally typed in 1969; that was a typo, I hit the wrong key.)

No films to offer within the last 20 years or so. A good friend of mine went to Vienna also in the summer of 1969 for the first time, gave me the impetus and incentive to see the place myself, which I did in Sept. 1971...my first time there. True, there was no rubble then.

Angela's Ashes makes Limerick seem pretty horrible. Trainspotting won't cause many people to add Edinburgh to their must-see list. Children of Man (?) is a sci-fi that doesn't make England look too great either.