TAP Movies

Starting in the fall of 2015, we wanted to give everyone in our group more of a choice on what movies they’d watch to help prepare them for their trip.  Below is a month by month list of movies you can choose from to help you prepare for our 2016 trip to The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.

Since there are so many to choose from, we are unable to find links to all of them for you.  Instead, check YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, other streaming sites, or the local library before spending money.

Remember, there are over 50 students in the group, so if you do rent or buy the movie, have a few friends over to make it cheaper for everyone.

Happy movie watching!

September

September is all about the Three Musketeers.  There have been numerous movies made from Alexandre Dumas’ classic adventure stories.  The Musketeers are some of France’s most beloved characters, and their story is a bit of comedy, a bit of romance, a bit of political intrigue, and a ton of action all rolled into one.  Personally, I love these characters and their stories.

You can choose any of the many Three Musketeers films.  Some are better than others, and I suppose that depends on your personal tastes, so choose one that you think you’ll enjoy.

Go to our  September Movie of the Month page to find out more about these movies.

October

This month, we’ll focus on the French Revolution.  The politics, the people, and the places.  There are quite a few great movies about this tumultuous time in France’s history, so we’re certain you’ll find something you’ll like.

Some of the movies are biographies of the people involved on both sides of the conflict, some are action/adventure stories about how things happened, and some are romantic stories with the Revolution as a background.  No matter what you choose, you’re bound to learn a ton about this time in French history.

Go to our October Movie of the Month page to find out more about these movies.

November

November will focus on the stories of one of France’s most famous authors, and one of the fathers of sci-fi, Jules Verne.  Verne captured the imagination of audiences everywhere with his exciting, action packed stories of journeys to distant places, wrought with peril, and full of adventure.  Some of his stories have been turned into great movies, so you can gain a little insight into the mind of one of France’s most beloved literary figures this month.

Go to our November Movie of the Month page to find out more about these.

December

As we talked about at our meeting, December is all about Anne Frank.  Since we’ll be visiting the secret annex that the Frank family spent 25 months hiding from the Nazis in, I’d like to make sure all of you watch, read, or research a bit about their lives (and deaths).  Anne Frank’s story has become one of the most important documents of the Holocaust, and understanding what she went through will be crucial to you on this trip.

Go to our December Movie of the Month page to find out more.

January

After the difficult and heavy subject matter from last month, we’re going to go into the new year with a more light-hearted theme – musicals.  There have been a number of movie musicals made  from French stories, so pick one, download the soundtrack or watch the movie, and report back to us what you took away from French sing-a-longs.

Go to our January Movie of the Month page to see what musicals we recommend.

February

Big budget, world-famous war stories like Saving Private Ryan are sometimes great, but since Mr. Keeton already covered D-Day pretty well with you guys, we’d like you to focus on some of the WWII stories from Belgium instead.  This month we’re focusing on war stories set in Belgium – which has been called “The Battleground of Europe” for it’s unfortunate location between Germany and France – who just couldn’t seem to stop fighting one another from 1870-1945.

Take a look at our February Movie of the Month page to see what Belgium in WWII movies we recommend.