2011 US-German film in which an engaged couple's backpacking trip in the Caucasus Mountains is derailed by a single misstep that threatens to undo everything the pair believed about each other and about themselves…
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains, THE LONELIEST PLANET tells the story of a young couple on the journey of a lifetime, and an incident that irrevocably transforms their relationship.
Alex (Gael García Bernal, The Motorcycle Diaries) and Nica are only a few months away from their wedding, and are backpacking through Eastern Europe. Habitual and adventurous travelers, they arrive in Georgia, and hire a guide to lead them on a camping trek. Setting off into the lush wilderness, they simply allow the vast surroundings to envelop them, until a split-second decision triggers a series of events that threatens everything the couple believes about themselves, and each other…
Special Features
- Behind the scenes on THE LONELIEST PLANET
- Gujabidze's mountaineering photos
Awards
- AFI Fest 2011 – Won Grand Jury Prize
- Gotham Awards 2012 – Nominated for Best Film
- Independent Spirit Awards 2013 – Nominated for Best Director
- Locarno International Film Festival 2011 – Nominated for Golden Leopard
The Loneliest Planet Reviews
“a mesmerizing drama about a footloose couple that, while not spectacular on the surface, manages to plumb some shattering truths about men, women, intimacy and power…“The Loneliest Planet” contains images of striking beauty, scenes of riveting intensity and alert, unforced performances. But it also tells a difficult, even subversive truth, not by hitting it on the head, but by approaching it quietly, from a poetically oblique angle.” Washington Post
“Writer/director Julia Loktev, a New York filmmaker born in Russia, skilfully uses stillness and the vastness of the Caucasus Mountains to frame her trio of characters in psychological quicksand.” 3AW
“The languid, observational style of director Julia Loktev will frustrate those expecting stuff to, like, happen more, but it has its real rewards.” Oregonian
“…simmering just beneath its quiet, beautiful surface are endless questions to do with relationships and trust, and how they're tied to our expectations regarding masculinity.” Filmlink
“So many films unworthy of the attribution have been described as "emotional journeys” that I'm a bit loath to use the term, but this highly sensitive and remarkable film fills those empty words back up: Loktev's quiet, calm, but very assured use of her performers, their movements and the spaces they're moving in, and (most importantly) duration of shots and scenes to slow down screen time takes us through the most complex, contradictory emotional fluctuations so thoroughly that it not only feels like we've been in the characters' physical presence in an unusually meaningful way, but that we've thereby been allowed to experience the ineffable voyages taken by their hearts and minds as well. Highly Recommended." DVD Talk
“Scoring a popular hit on the film festival circuit, director Julia Loktev elicits superb performances from a minimal cast.” The Sun Herald
“When two hipsters go on a guided camping expedition in the Caucasus Mountains, an incident tears a rift between them in “The Loneliest Planet,” writer-helmer Julia Loktev’s powerful, exquisitely lensed third feature. As with her previous film, “Day Night Day Night,” Loktev withholds vital information here about her characters’ inner thoughts, a strategy that will provoke passionate arguments over post-screening drinks, perhaps enhancing word of mouth. More commercially viable than “Day Night,” especially given its spectacular use of locations and the presence of star Gael Garcia Bernal, pic should trek around the fest circuit and pitch camp with specialty distributors.” Variety