NYFF62 (9/27-10/14): Grand Tour ★★★★★

Cinematic Odyssey of Love, Loss, and Empire

Cannes Film Festival Best Director Award Winner

 

*칸영화제 감독상 수상작 '그랜드 투어(Grand Tour)'의 미학 ★★★★★ <review in Korean>

https://www.nyculturebeat.com/index.php?mid=Film2&document_srl=4132751

 

Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes Trailer/예고편 

 

Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes, who won the Best Director Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his film Grand Tour, has emerged as a modern master, reviving the art of cinema in an era when digital technology allows almost anyone to create videos. Grand Tour has been invited to the 2024 New York Film Festival (NYFF62, September 27 - October 14), and the upcoming Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, October 2-11) will feature a retrospective titled “Miguel Gomes: A Filmmaker of Joyful Melancholy,” showcasing eight of his feature films.

 

Gomes, 52, studied film at the Lisbon Theatre and Film School and worked as a film critic while making short films. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with The Face You Deserve (A Cara que Mereces). His breakthrough came with Tabu (NYFF50), for which he won the Alfred Bauer Award (Silver Bear) at the Berlin International Film Festival. He gained further acclaim for his ambitious trilogy, Arabian Nights (As Mil e Uma Noites, NYFF53), which used the framework of the classic One Thousand and One Nights to reflect the realities of contemporary Portugal.

 

 

Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes

 

Infused with film theory, Gomes' Grand Tour follows the separate journeys of a British couple, Edward (Gonzalo Worthington) and his fiancée Molly (Christa Alfaiate), as they traverse Southeast Asia in 1918. The film tells the story of Molly chasing Edward, who disappeared seven years after their engagement, just before their wedding. The narrative seems to pay homage to or parody Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch (1955), starring Marilyn Monroe, as it explores the idea of relationships reaching a breaking point after seven years.

 

The film is divided into two parts. The first half focuses on Edward, the “runaway groom,” a British civil servant stationed in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), who embarks on a journey to escape from his responsibilities. His route takes him through Mandalay, Singapore, Bangkok, Saigon, Manila, Osaka, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Tibet. 

 

The second half shifts to Molly’s perspective as she sets out to find her missing fiancé. Grand Tour deftly balances the story between His Story and Her Story: Edward, the irresponsible fugitive, and Molly, the determined and modern woman. Edward is no romantic hero; he’s a coward. Molly, with her peculiar laughter, is far from the idealized heroine and instead emerges as a deeply flawed character. But then, aren’t all humans inherently imperfect?

 

 

Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes

 

Grand Tour opens with a scene, shot in color, of a man manually operating a Ferris wheel in an amusement park in Mandalay, Burma. Passengers on the Ferris wheel view the world from varying vertical heights, symbolizing a hierarchical perspective. In contrast, Edward and Molly’s journey unfolds horizontally, traversing landscapes by train. Through this visual juxtaposition, Director Gomes seems to invite us to abandon the hierarchical viewpoint represented by the Ferris wheel and to perceive the world on an equal footing, as experienced through a shared, horizontal journey.

 

The film’s visual narrative reinforces this dichotomy. From Edward’s viewpoint, the camera captures the receding tracks of a departing train, symbolizing the past. From Molly’s perspective, the train moves forward along the tracks, representing the future. Edward’s pessimism and Molly’s optimism run parallel like the train’s tracks, never intersecting, yet always bound together. In this way, Edward and Molly can be seen as two conflicting sides of the human psyche, each battling for dominance within us.

 

Miguel Gomes’ Grand Tour invites us to explore these opposing forces, reminding us that we all carry within us the dual nature of Edward and Molly—a blend of fear and hope, of retreat and pursuit, and, ultimately, of the flawed beauty of being human.

 

 

Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes

 

The film alternates between black-and-white scenes reminiscent of the early 20th century and vivid colors that reflect the chaotic reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using techniques from early cinema, such as the iris shot (where the subject is confined within a circular frame) and superimposition (overlaying multiple images to create a single scene), Gomes vividly conveys the sensibilities of 1918 cinema while weaving in a modern narrative.

 

In addition to these stylistic choices, the film’s multilingual narration, delivered in Thai, Vietnamese, Burmese, and Filipino by male and female voices, creates a complex, almost disorienting experience for the audience. Characters also speak Chinese, French, and Japanese, adding to the linguistic tapestry. Yet, this choice is far from arbitrary. It raises the question of realism in cinema: would it be any less realistic for figures like Evita (Madonna) or Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) to speak English? In Grand Tour, Gomes opts for authenticity by having his characters speak their native languages, even if it confounds the audience.

 

 

Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes

 

Gomes further complicates the film’s narrative by casting Portuguese actors to play British characters, who speak Portuguese rather than English. This choice can be seen as a critique of colonialism, both of the British Empire and Gomes' own country, Portugal. At the height of its power, Britain ruled over 120 territories in Asia, South America, and Africa, while Portugal established colonies in more than 50 countries across these continents. By superimposing the legacy of these two former colonial powers onto the character of Edward, Gomes invites viewers to reflect on the shared histories of exploitation and cultural imposition.

 

The use of Portuguese-speaking British characters and the multilingual narrators creates a sense of "defamiliarization" for the audience. This technique amplifies the voices of both the colonizers and the colonized, offering a layered perspective on history and power dynamics. The film is a rich mosaic of cultural codes, showcasing traditional and modern elements from each country, from puppet shows and shadow plays to karaoke bars. In the film set in 1918, there is a surreal moment when Molly drops her smartphone in the woods, and suddenly, a crowd wearing masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic appears. Rather than adhering to historical accuracy, Gomes blurs the lines between documentary and fiction, making Edward and Molly’s separate journeys feel even more dreamlike.

 

Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes 

 

The use of music and sound in Grand Tour is also noteworthy. The film is not just a visual journey but an auditory experience as well, weaving together a rich tapestry of soundscapes. The soundtrack includes a diverse mix of Manrico's aria "Di quella pira" from Verdi's opera Il Trovatore, Johann Strauss' waltz The Blue Danube, and traditional music from various Southeast Asian countries. This combination introduces audiences to unfamiliar melodies, breaking away from the conventional reliance on Western film scores and creating a unique musical landscape that enhances the narrative.

 

Animals frequently appear throughout Edward and Molly’s travels, serving as silent witnesses to human folly and suffering. From the furry, horned rams in the port to the monkeys in the hot springs, donkeys in the jungle, and pandas in the bamboo forest, these creatures juxtapose the wild beauty of nature with the constructed chaos of human civilization. In this sense, Gomes' perspective is almost godlike, observing humanity from a distant, impartial vantage point.

 

At times, Edward appears as if he has stepped into the lush, dreamlike jungles painted by French artist Henri Rousseau (1844-1910). Rousseau’s works, known for their primitive, exotic, and mysterious qualities, remind us of humanity’s place within the vastness of the universe. Similarly, Gomes captures and amplifies the subtle sounds often overlooked in daily life. The birdsong, crackling fire, and rhythmic breathing that accompany Edward and Molly’s journey echo his vision of a universe where every element is interconnected, reinforcing the idea that we are all part of a larger whole.

 

 

Grand Tour by Miguel Gomes

 

Grand Tour defies Hollywood conventions. It eschews the traditional "boy meets girl, and they live happily ever after" narrative in favor of a more fragmented, relativistic approach. By mixing documentary and fiction, black-and-white and color, and various genres such as romance, comedy, noir, thriller, road movie, and adventure, Gomes creates a postmodern mosaic. The film, with its multiple perspectives, resembles a cinematic "cocktail" or "bibimbap," combining disparate elements to form a cohesive whole.

 

Edward’s journey culminates in Tibet, a destination laden with symbolic meaning. Is it a critique of Western, Christian-centric history and imperialist views? There, a British consul addicted to opium tells Edward, “The empire is over, and Westerners will never understand the minds of Easterners.” It appears to serve as a critique of Orientalism, viewed through the lens of a white supremacist perspective. Edward may represent the once-dominant colonial powers, while Molly embodies the resilience of the colonized.

 

Ultimately, Grand Tour can be seen as a metaphor for life itself. A Japanese monk with a basket on his head advises Edward to “surrender yourself to the world.” Whether we are as vulnerable as Edward or as determined as Molly, both characters reflect the internal struggles we all face. Life’s journey, much like the film’s narrative, is unpredictable—filled with detours, smuggling, and espionage accusations—but it is a journey worth taking. "Life is a journey with unexpected twists and turns."

 

Grand Tour is a postmodern, dreamlike fantasy that weaves together historical, political, social, psychological, and feminist themes. Above all, it is a meditation on life and a celebration of cinema. Miguel Gomes has crafted a cinematic feast rich in visual language, cultural awareness, humanism, and imagination. It invites viewers to join the journey and lose themselves in its multifaceted storytelling.

 

GRAND TOUR

Tuesday, October 8, 9PM/ Wednesday, October 9, 6 PM/ Friday, October 11, 12:45 PM 

Q&A with Miguel Gomes on Oct. 8 & 9

https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2024/films/grand-tour