Wick's Review

Summary - Very Good 3.5

The Loneliest Planet unspools a frankly realistic story about a long hike in an alien country. Not for the masses, its appeal is to those of us with a backpacker’s ethos and/or a fascination with the Republic of Georgia. Everyone else stay away.

The thin story follows an engaged couple of bright Westerners who hire a hardened Georgian man to guide them on a multiday hike in the Caucasus Mountains. Their encounters with each other and occasional strangers lead to dicey situations that create major issues in their dreamy relationship.

A fictional drama that operates at rFactor One, a.k.a. normal reality, it’s a bit of stretch to call it a thriller given its cinematic rectitude. However it’s easy to see how such situations could beset an adventuresome couple like the one in the movie, making their reactions an interesting study in human relations.

Acting - Very Good 3.5

Hani Furstenberg and Gael García Bernal play a Western couple fully exploring their mutual wanderlust, not to mention their earthly lust. They’re a bit annoying, cheerful in a callow sort of way, eager beavers always striving to exercise their bodies and their minds. Bully for them, but they make tiresome traveling companions as the movie heads towards two hours.

Bidzina Gujabidze plays their Georgian guide, a stoic hardened by war, booze and loss. He emerges as the most likable of the three, a testament to his acting as much as to the story.

Film - Very Good 3.5

Julia Loktev’s film proceeds at walking speed through a days long peregrination in the Georgian outback, dipping regularly into the hike in real time chunks. It’s a long hike. Just as on the real thing, this allows plenty of time to get to know the others on the trail, for better or worse.

Not surprisingly, the strong post-modern woman finds herself torn between her sensitive fiance and the strong pre-modern man who’s guiding them. Biology will out.

Good thing the filmmaker is a Julia and not a Julian, otherwise charges of sexism would be raised.

Edge - Risqué 2.0

Reality - Natural 1.0

The Loneliest Planet’s main claim to fascination is the lens it provides into Georgia and her people, especially Georgian guys. It depicts them as toughs who bark, bluster and take offense easily – human Klingons almost. War hardened and booze addled, they’ve seen too much, lost too much and have too strong a taste for vodka.

Still they’re depicted as good people beneath the hard surface. My experience with Georgians confirms their goodness and also their wariness and taste for the bottle, making the movie’s dramatic depiction seem realistic, especially given its outback setting.

In any case, here’s the real Lonely Planet on Georgia.

• Feed
• Movies
• ViewLists
• NewOnDemand