Set in Bali, filmed in Australia: Ticket to Paradise starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Maxime Bouttier sparks debate on ‘colonial gaze’

‘Ticket to Paradise’ tells the story of divorced parents who fly to Bali to try to convince their daughter not to marry an Indonesian man she barely knows

Commentators complain the film was not shot on the island, and criticise casting of mixed-race actor Maxime Bouttier amid accusations of ‘perpetuating colonial gaze’

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‘Ticket to Paradise’ features Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts and, while set in Bali, was shot in Australia. Photo: Handout Universal Pictures

Published: 2:00pm, 3 Jul 2022Updated: 11:04am, 4 Jul 2022

According to its slick and colourful trailer, the premise of the new Julia Roberts and George Clooney film, Ticket to Paradise, is as follows: Roberts and Clooney, playing divorced and bickering parents, fly to Bali in Indonesia to try to convince their daughter to call off her impending marriage to an Indonesian local she only recently met.

The trailer was released on Thursday but as soon as it hit the internet online commentators began pointing out issues with the summer blockbuster described by some as a sequel to the 2010 hit Eat Pray Love, which also starred Roberts and included scenes shot in Bali.

One of the many online gripes sparked by the trailer is that Roberts did not return to Bali, often known as the “island of the gods” because of its many Hindu influences.

Instead, Haslewood Island, on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, stood in for the world-famous Indonesian island.

A scene from the ‘Ticket to Paradise’ official trailer. Photo: Universal Pictures

Filming also took place in a number of other locations around the Australian state – more than 3,000km from Bali – including the Gold Coast, Brisbane, the Whitsunday Islands, Moreton Island and Long Island.