An innocent hiking adventure for two young lovers in the Caucasus Mountains turns into a subtle, seething battle of the sexes in Julia Loktev’s exquisite new art film. Mexican heartthrob Gael Garcia Bernal and startling redheaded Israeli actress Hani Furstenberg play the paramours who hire a Georgian guide to take them climbing across the precipitous terrain.
Punctuated by beautiful landscape shots and intimate interludes, the film hinges on a brief, tumultuous (and ever-so-slightly comical) turning point that irrevocably shifts the dynamics among the three characters. A complex tale of love, disenchantment, and gender roles, The Loneliest Planet makes for existential and alluring viewing.
