Allied|Dunas de Corralejo, Fuerteventura — the Sahara that a ferry can reach

The film opens with a man dropping out of an empty sky into an empty desert. Max Vatan gathers his parachute, buries it, and walks. There is no dialogue for a long time, only sand and wind and the sound of silk being folded.

That sand is Fuerteventura. The Parque Natural de Corralejo covers about 2,600 hectares at the island's northern tip — pale dunes running down to a turquoise shoreline, with the volcanic cone of Montaña Roja standing behind them. The production used it for the parachute landing and for the drive across country toward Casablanca. No trip to Morocco was required. A visual effects unit did travel to the real Casablanca, but only to laser-scan rooftops for backgrounds.

What the camera does not show is how thin the illusion is. The dunes are crossed by the FV-1a road, and hotels sit at the southern edge, and the island of Lobos is usually visible offshore. Frame it tightly enough, though, and the Sahara is entirely convincing — which is exactly the trick the whole film runs on.

Park in one of the pull-offs along the coast road and walk inland, away from the water, for ten minutes. The traffic noise drops out. The sand here is made of crushed shell and coral rather than mineral grit, so it stays cool underfoot far longer than you expect, and it squeaks. Stand still and you will hear the same wind that carried Max in.