By Francisco Silva -
Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes is probably the most sui generis filmmaker working today. His works are unpredictable mixtures of spoken word drama, documentary, and satire. His previous film was an almost 9-hour adaptation of Arabian Nights, compiling a series of shorts from different genres that tried to make sense of Portugal during the GFC. It was brutally funny but also weirdly emotional and contemplative. But above all, it was unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
In Grand Tour, Gomes goes smaller but in a broader scope. It’s the story of a British civil servant in Rangoon at the beginning of the 20th century. Edward (Gonçalo Waddington) receives notice that his fiancée Molly (Cristina Alfaite) is coming to visit him so they can finally get married, but in panic, he tells her he has some businesses to take care of and embarks on an aimless journey alone through Asia. In the first half, we follow Edward as he tries to make sense of his life while avoiding Molly and his faith, and in the second half, we follow the spritely Molly as she follows the crumbs of her husband-to-be. This experience is real and vital for Edward, just like the countries he visits. For Molly, this is all a droll game of cat-and-mouse with only one expected outcome – they get married. The background is a palpable reality for Edward, and playful fantasy for Molly.
The curiosity of this film is how Gomes frames the story. Each section of the film is narrated by a person from that country and in that language. Some scenes, filmed in a studio, are acted by actors, but for the rest, a monologue accompanies modern images of those countries that contrast not only with the story we’re being told but with the reality of what we perceive of South East Asia. Gomes knows about the colonial footprint left by the West in these places (we visit Burma, Singapore, Vietnam, China and Japan), but on the scenes with actors, everything is fake and idealised, while the rest is represented by a reality, so truthful it has no exotic appeal to it. In a way, Gomes gives the voice back to the people, though it was never for him to give it – and it’s still the words he wrote – but there is an authentic sense that he wants to portray the closest to reality he can. His English characters (all played by Portuguese actors in the Portuguese language, a reversal of that American trope of having every European speaking the Queen’s language) are tragic figures lost in a world they are not supposed to understand.
On the other hand, the documentary shots reveal bubbling life, society and progress. A whole society that developed from the strength of its own culture. Those scenes were shot by cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, the same who shoots those magical images in the films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul; they are like hypnotic video logs from the point of view of someone who understands those places so well; it’s like he’s filming his day-to-day life with no commentary. Like Chris Marker, pointing his camera at the people and the details, not the postcard. In a world of social media and fabricated realities, Mukdeeprom shoots the tactile truth.
Grand Tour is poetry in layers. The final twenty minutes feel sad and bittersweet as the crushing reality of the colonial patronising force succumbs to a universe it was never meant to shackle. Alfaite, who for the most part doesn’t grasp the character of Molly convincingly, yanks out of her performance a moment of genuine anger that could only come from a Portuguese playing an English woman forcing a group of Vietnamese people to risk their lives for her romantic endeavour. It’s like Gomes pulling the rug out from under the audience and forcing us to question the humour from before. After the fantasy, he reminds us of the effect colonialism, religion, commercial and political interests have had in that part of the world.
Verdict: 4.5 out of 5
For everyone who keeps saying that films are all the same, here’s something different, emotional, and poetic.
Ticket giveaway – BIRD
LSJ, Reset Collective and Mushroom Studios have five double passes for the upcoming Andrea Arnold (FishTank, American Honey) drama, Bird, with Barry Keoghan. 12-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere. In cinemas February 20. Click here to watch the trailer.
For a chance to win a double pass for this film, email your LawID number to journal@lawsociety.com.au with the subject line BIRD before Tuesday 18 February.
