THE LONELIEST PLANET, Dir. Julia Loktev 2011
I missed this little film in theaters by one day, as it didn’t have a very wide or long release, but it was well worth the wait until I discovered it streaming on Netflix. It’s a fantastically simple story. And while this is why it may turn some critics off–Ebert wanted more dramatic punch–it’s precisely why I loved it so much. Tensions abound scene to scene as young couple, played by Gael Garcia Bernal and lovely Israeli-American actor Hani Furstenberg, backback through Georgia with a guide–but there isn’t outright big plot conflict until about halfway through. Still, I was compelled and entertained every moment. The direction allows for a lot of what feels like physical improvisation, and the story is ultimately centered on one of these instinctual gestures. Once the pivotal moment happens, you will be personally engaged with new questions about yourself, and that, to me, is a great simple story.
