X marks the eccentricity spot as idiosyncratic solicitor Rupert Grey, and his wife Jan a free-spirited upper-class English couple in their sixties, married for 35 years and on the verge of retirement, decide to drive Rupert’s father’s 1936 Rolls Royce across India on their way to the Chobi Mela photography festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
It’s a Roller coaster ride documented in Oliver McGarvey’s film ROMANTIC ROAD.
Rupert is a Consultant in Dispute Resolution specialising in libel and copyright law. He advises photographers and syndication agencies on all aspects of copyright law, and regularly lectures and gives seminars in the UK and overseas on aspects of media law. He and his wife, Jan, are also intrepid travellers.
At the beginning of the film, he does ponder whether it is provocative rambling around India in a Roller, a status vehicle reminiscent of the British Raj, but ever the risk taker, Rupe throws caution to the wind and embarks on a six month, 5,000 mile expedition.
Over this time and distance, the adventures mount, whether it be dodging tribal conflicts, battling with sub continental roads and the reckless drivers who use them, dealing with mechanical breakdowns, engineering problems of ferrying behemoth vintage vehicles on tiny river vessels or the inevitable bureaucratic barriers endemic in crossing borders.
At one stage, their Rolls Royce is impounded and they are left with the very real prospect of forfeiting their journey and their car. In another strange episode, a local cop and part time film maker co-opts Rupert into playing a Colonial oppressor in his latest historical extravahganza.
Oliver McGarvey’s remarkable documentary is made remarkable by the two principal players – the Gung ho Rupert and the stoic and supportive Jan- a dauntless, audacious pair. Theirs is a true love story of compatibility and companionship.
A wonderful antidote to the saccharine fantasy of the Marigold Hotel films, this is a rough shod road movie that revels in seat of the pants adventure by a couple of genuine grey nomads.