By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Julia Loktev
Starring: Bidzina Gujabidze | Gael García Bernal | Hani Furstenberg
Country: germany, united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 113
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1695405/reference
Thom says: “A loving couple arrive in Georgia (the country) and absorb the local culture. They hire a local guide (a guide in real life who had to be coerced into acting in his first and last film) to take them on an arduous hiking trip through the local mountain range. Something happens on the trip that makes a change in their lives of a shattering nature. It certainly made its point but I wasn’t able to fully embrace what it suggested. Worse still, the Georgian scenery was of a very unattractive nature. The trek was a big yawner. As a short story it might have worked. 1.5 cats”
Bruce says: “What a surprise! I was led to believe THE LONELIEST PLANET was a crashing bore and, for some, that may well be the case. It is slow moving and short on dialogue. THE LONELIEST PLANET should be on a must see list for anyone who liked Kelly Reichardt’s OLD JOY or Gus Van Sant’s GERRY.
“Most of us have moments in our lives that we would give anything to be able erase or rewind/play over. Such moments might demonstrate lack of judgment or a primitive reflexive action that changes everything going forward. The latter is at the core of THE LONELIEST PLANET.
“Alex (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Nica (Hani Furstenberg) are engaged. They are backpacking in the Caucasus, in the wilds of
Georgia. They hire a guide (Bidzina Gujabidze) named Dato. The scenery is majestic and overwhelming, reminding man how tiny and insignificant he is in the greater scheme of things. Often the landscape is bleak. But even in the bleakest moments fascinating patterns emerge in the terrain. Loktev often uses a stationery camera to capture the vistas and to help us realize the scale of difference between man and nature.
“At times we, the viewers, are hiking real-time with the characters in the film. They ford streams, set up camp, trudge through barren stretches. We are with them every step of the way. Nica and Alex play silly games and exchange pleasantries with Dato who is semi-fluent in English. Nica helps Dato with his English pronunciation, having Dato repeat phrases such as ‘The bitch is on the beach,’ and ‘there is shit on the sheet.’ When Alex and Nica are hiking in tandem, Alex schools Nica on declining Spanish verbs.
“The three are alone for the most part. They do encounter shepherds with a huge flock of sheep and three brigands who are roaming about with no obvious purpose. It is with the latter group that a shocking moment occurs. It happens so quickly that a viewer with a wandering mind could miss it entirely.
“As a result, Nica and Alex can barely speak to each other. Both actors express their grief and pain with incredible subtlety. We can see both desperately trying to speak, having lost the ability to get the words out. Anyone who has been involved in a relationship that required damage control will relate to the delicacies of the process. Anything said could jeopardize their relationship forever.
“Julia Loktev could not have picked a mise-en-scene further removed from her debut feature, DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT
which was a claustrophobic tale of a Times Square suicide bomber. 4.5 cats”