The Loneliest Planet

Julia Loktev’s first film since 2006’s Day Night Day Night, The Loneliest Planet follows a couple (Gael García Bernal’s Alex and Hani Furstenberg’s Nica) as they and their tour guide (Bidzina Gujabidze’s Dato) backpack through the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia – with the film, for the most part, concerned with the trio’s plotless escapades within the picturesque countryside. The Loneliest Planet, which boasts perhaps the single most inexplicable opening shot all year, is initially concerned with the protagonists’ dialogue-free, exposition-free exploits, as Loktev follows the three characters as they, for example, cross a tricky stream or walk over a rocky hillside. The unabashed uneventfulness of the narrative inevitably does become somewhat hypnotic, and the fact that we never learn any concrete personal details about any of these people is, as a result, not as problematic as one might’ve feared. There’s little doubt, however, that Loktev’s plotless aesthetic is occasionally pushed to its limits; by the time Alex and Nica are competing to see who can stand on their head the longest, the viewer is forced to wonder where (if anywhere) this is all going or what the point of all this is. It’s the inclusion of an event at around the halfway point that deftly and firmly resuscitates the viewer’s dwindling interest, with the admittedly shocking nature of this sequence infusing the proceedings with a much needed jolt of energy. It’s interesting to note that this occurrence completely changes the dynamic between the three characters, and though Loktev’s dialogue-free modus operandi is never more frustrating than it is here (ie wouldn’t they talk about this at least once?), it’s worth noting that the three actors manage to communicate plenty using just their facial expressions and their body language. The watchable atmosphere persists until right around the 90 minute mark, after which point it does feel like Loktev is spinning her wheels – with the inclusion of an absolutely endless nighttime sequence certainly confirming this feeling. The criminally abrupt ending finally cements The Loneliest Planet‘s place as a challenging, audacious, yet ultimately unsuccessful cinematic experiment, which is a shame, really, given the strength of Loktev’s directorial choices and the three central performances.

** out of ****