Miguel Gomes creates a fascinating world of mixed languages, times, and spaces in a melancholic trip across an imaginary Southeast Asia.
In Burma in 1918 Edward, a British citizen, escapes from the city of Rangoon when he hears that his fiancée is coming to visit. After the derailment of his train from Singapore to Bangkok he panics and flees via Saigon, Manila, Osaka, and Shanghai. With time, his anxiety gives way to melancholy: hiding in the jungle, the cowardly Edward thinks about the futility of life and wonders what has happened to Molly. Meanwhile, Molly, determined to get married, follows him on his journey across Asia.
As in his earlier films (Arabian Nights, Tabu), Miguel Gomes blends different film traditions and regimes to create a complex, continuous narrative. The main part of the story was filmed in the studio in the style of 1930s and 1940s Hollywood and is split into two parts. The first follows Edward and the second shows Molly’s journey. Here and there the story is broken by a puppet show or documentary footage, which Gomes, with his cinematographer and a team of screenwriters, shot during research trips to Southeast Asia. With no clear lines between different episodes, eras, and realities throughout the film, toward the end Gomes breaks the fourth wall, bringing into the film the reality of the audience.
Grand Tour brought Gomes the Best Director award at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
The film will be screened in Portuguese, Chinese, Thai, French, Burmese, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Japanese with Russian subtitles.
Grand Tour
Director: Miguel Gomes
Portugal, Italy, France, 2024. 128 min.
18+
