If you've spent much time in foreign lands with a significant other, the first hour or so of Julia Loktev's
The Loneliest Planet, which premiered this weekend at the
New York Film Festival, will resonate deeply: the simultaneously thrilling and frightening feeling of shared isolation comes through perfectly, as do the inevitable awkwardnesses of being dependent on people from another culture whose values you may not share. Here, the couple in question is Alex (the ever-lovable Gael Garcia Bernal) and Nica (the why-haven't-we-heard-of-her-before Hani Furstenberg), traipsing around the Caucasus Mountains with their guide, Dato (Bidzina Gujabidze, Georgia's best mountaineer and a great first-time actor). They revel in one another, trade jokes with Dato, and sink into the gorgeous scenery. Then things take a turn. What was a story about one couple becomes a story about the existential doubts that linger in all couples, a story told through eyes and sighs rather than words.
Photo:
Thanks
i love
Comments
Post a Comment