Grand Tour 

Grand Tour 

Miguel Gomes, Portugal, Italy, France, 2024, 129’ 

A whirlwind love story set in early 20th century colonial Asia, the film takes us on a dreamlike journey through past and present. 

Burma, 1918. Edward, a British Empire servant, is waiting for his fiancée Molly in the harbour but panic seizes him and he jumps ship for Singapore. On an unexpected odyssey through Southeast Asia, he becomes increasingly melancholy. He reflects on the emptiness of his existence and wonders what happened to Molly. Molly accepts her fiancé’s gesture with good humour. Determined to get married, she follows him… 

Portuguese cineaste Miguel Gomes takes us on a dreamlike journey through the past and present with this turbulent love story set in early twentieth-century colonial Asia. The film combining melancholic drama and screwball comedy won the Best Director award at Cannes. 

“There are several ‘great journeys’ in this film. The geographical journey is shown through images of contemporary Asia, which correspond to the journey of the two characters through a fictional, studio-shot Asia. Then there is the emotional journey, which Edward and Molly experience differently; both move through an emotional zone no less vast than the physical. But most important of all is the grand journey that unites everything that is divided: countries, genders, times; the real and the imaginary, the world and the film. I think this is the essence of the art of film. And it is this journey that I would particularly like to invite the audience on.” – Miguel Gomes 

 Miguel Gomes (born 1972 in Lisbon) is the author of films such as A Cara que Mereces (2004), Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto (2008), Tabu (2012; FIPRESCI Award at the Berlinale) and the 1001 Nights trilogy (2015). In 2024, he was honored with a ‘Special Program in Focus’ at the 29th Busan International Film Festival, titled Miguel Gomes, a filmmaker of Joyful Melancholy.