Cannes Winner Meanders Through Asia with Style

Many engaged couples out there like to take their sweet time getting hitched, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes that leads nosy folks to quip things behind the couples’ backs, like, “Wow, longest engagement ever.” But what about the farthest engagement ever? From acclaimed filmmaker Miguel Gomes (Tabu, Arabian Knights), Grand Tour is a diptych, purposefully disjointed feature that pits its allegedly soon-to-be-married protagonists often at wildly far distances from each other. We’re talking simply on a geographical standpoint, but metaphors are far and wide in Gomes’ challenging but rewarding new film.

Grand Tour takes its title from a long-established travel itinerary known as a “grand tour of Asia,” a popular option with Westerners looking for a broad-stroke introduction to the continent. The movie is billed as a “globetrotting romantic mystery,” but the “mystery” might instead translate as utter confusion to many mainstream audiences, and the dreary monotone of the fim won’t help. But for the rest of us cinema enthusiasts, MUBI’s new release earned Gomes the Best Director prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and offers an intriguing blend of melodrama and even quirkiness against an exciting Asian backdrop.

The Runaway Groom

Director Gomes effectively transports us back to the World War I era, black-and-white tinted mise-en-scène and all. The year is 1918 in then-Burma, specifically the city of Rangoon under British rule. The protagonist is a Westerner, another detail that might remind George Orwell fans of his acclaimed novel Burmese Days. But instead of an utterly tragic and fallen hero from Orwell’s book, we have the sorrowful but wonderfully deadpan civil servant Edward (Gonçalo Waddington), a rain-drenched groom-to-be who’s waiting for his loving fiancée Molly (the charming Crista Alfaiate, who we’ll meet part 2 of the film) to arrive by ship.

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Among Oscar-winner Julia Roberts’ best romantic comedies is Runaway Bride, of course. Here, it’s the groom having existential doubts on the fateful day. We first meet him grasping a soaked bouquet of dying flowers, perhaps a symbol of his decaying future with Molly. Ever had those moments where you wait too long for something, to the point where you overthink it and then reverse course on a significant decision? Before he knows it, Edward finds himself donating his flowers to the women around him and sets sail somewhere — anywhere — away from the harbor. First, it’s Singamore. Then he touches down, seemingly aimlessly, in Saigon, Manila, Osaka, and the list goes on.

The film’s entire second half is centered on Molly, whose scene-stealing presence marks a stark contrast with that of the rather mundane Edward. Upon finally meeting her — since her only exposure in the film’s first half are Molly’s occasional telegrams that tick off Edward that she’s still in hot pursuit of him — the moviegoer might wonder, “What’s not to love?” That infectious laugh, that relatable air of curiosity, collectively begging the next question, “Why were Molly and Edward destined for each other in the first place?” Interestingly, one unifying factor comes in the form of the hiccups and setbacks that Molly encounters in her quest through Southeast and East Asia, similar to what Edward endures during his travels.

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A Disjointed, Diptych Delight

The “grand” scope of Gomes’ new feature ultimately becomes an inspiration to budding filmmakers far and wide. Who doesn’t appreciate when directors take their stories overseas and venture into the depths of foreign continents? The Criterion Collection will surely come knocking, no doubt about it. Gomes even ups the ante with his global production by embracing the cultures of each aimless pit stop Edward makes along the way, in his endless quest to evade the loving clutches of his fiancée’s embrace. Exhibit A: Each narrator Gomes employs speaks the native tongue of whichever country the dueling protagonists are currently situated. It’s a nifty little device that further immerses us in the scenes that fill up this audacious project.

Plus, did we mention he splices in documentary footage here and there, helping to build a well-rounded and poetic end result that will scare off commercial audiences and leave the rest of us cool cats itching for Gomes’ next endeavor? The modern-day clips of Asia add that meta element that filmgoers have come to appreciate over the past century and further solidifies why Gomes would land on the title “Grand Tour” for his film, hinting at that real-life tourist trap you might find yourself coughing up money for one day.

Meanwhile, it’s forever a bold choice when directors divide their films in multiple parts. Just look at the critical success of Lars von Trier’s Melancholia (2011) and even Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness (2024), devoting entire portions of their films to distinct characters. It’ll certainly catch you off guard when the focus shifts from one troubled lover (Edward) to the other (Molly), but stick with it. Grand Tour reminds us of the poetic potential of cinema. From MUBI, Grand Tour will be released in select theaters on March 28.