The Loneliest Planet

This backpackers’ adventure is a loose adaptation of Tim Bissell’s Expensive Trips Nowhere, a series of stories about rich Westerners travelling in poor, beautiful parts of the world. In this case, Alex (Gael García Bernal) and Nica (Hani Furstenberg) have decided to go trekking in the Caucasus a few months before their wedding, led by local guide Dato (Bidzina Gujabidze). They walk for hours, sometimes talking or singing, but usually surrounded by the intoxicating silence of the rugged mountains. An unexpected event sorely tests their relationship.
Julia Loktev’s second feature film deals with relationships disrupted by misunderstandings, but is also a masterful example of repetition and duration in cinema. Gujabidze, who makes his debut in this film, works as a professional mountaineer, enabling him to give an authentic performance, while Bernal and Furstenberg manage to create an alienating chemistry. The title is a playful reference to the popular publisher of travel guides.