A magnificent escape
Edward (Gonçalo Waddington) flees Rangoon in Burma and suddenly takes a boat to Singapore. And then, one thing leading to the other, trains, boats and donkeys to travel through Bangkok, Hanoi, Tokyo and Bandung… Quite sick on this path, one wonders what it’s like. Is he a spy of Her Majesty? In reality, he is running away from his fiancée Molly, who comes from London determined to marry him.
Beyond the clichés
There are landscapes, there is vegetation, musical instruments, spiritual leaders and opium. And yet, Miguel Gomes’ film avoids the pitfall of showing vacation photos. We are in 1917, at a time when Europe is becoming automated on the front and the fantasy of its domination remains in the Empires… And yet, it is the beginning of the end. The English consul in Bandung, who had taken refuge in the countryside, said, “We will leave here without having understood anything.”
Du grand Miguel Gomes
Miguel Gomes, who worked remotely for most of his location scouting, due to the closure of China during COVID, manages to offer his “cult” black and white since Tabou (2012) and enhances it with colors. Some of today’s images and insignia blend into the vintage grain of the photo. As for the languages, they are mischievous: Portuguese is spoken by the characters throughout with confidence and the voice-over changes depending on the country we are “touring”. Finally, the road movie transforms into a comedy in the middle and the repetition of certain images and certain places disrupts all the most reassuring certainties.
A fine reflection on the end of the Empire
The Beautiful Blue Danube of the Grand Tour responds to the Valkyrie ride of Apocalypse now. The tenor is alone singing Verdi in the captain’s cabin, which everyone has deserted. And Miguel Gomez offers, gently and ironically, a reflection that is both powerful and fine on colonization and its end. A film which must be rewarded at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
