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The Loneliest Planet DVD Review

“The Loneliest Planet” is an exercise in boredom.

“The Loneliest Planet” is an arthouse film that revolves around a soon to be married couple (Alex and Nica) who are backpacking in Georgia (not the U.S. state). As they wander around the countryside and visit towns, they decide to embark on a camping trip with a tour guide named Dato. Amidst their vacation, however, a disturbing event occurs (won’t spoil what) that greatly impacts the couple’s relationship. Will they be able to work through their problems or will this event forever damage their love?

Anytime a film based on a short story is drawn out to an unnecessary 2 hour runtime, you have to question the writers and filmmaker’s choices. Unless you enjoy small talk, repetitive music cues, lingering shots of walking, and endless amounts of uneventful scenes, there’s not much to admire about this laborious character study.

The film isn’t without total merit though. Gael Garcia Bernal (Alex) and Hani Furstenberg (Nica) give credible performances, but it’s the tour guide Dato (played by real life mountaineer Bidzina Gujabidze) who gives the film’s most authentic performance. The real show-stopper here is the picturesque cinematography by Inti Briones. The gorgeous shots of mountains, rocky terrain, green grass, streams, hills, and mud may not make up for the film’s many shortcomings, but at least the movie is beautiful to look at.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.66:1. How does it look? Say what you will about the film, but it is visually stunning even in standard definition.

Audio Track: Dolby Digital 2.0. How does it sound? Truthfully, there’s not a ton going on as there are a lot of dialogue free moments. Still, what audio there is sounds adequate.

Extras:
* IFC Film trailers including one for “The Loneliest Planet.”
* “Bidzina Gujabidze’s Mountaineering Photos”- A still photo gallery of some of Gujabidze’s extraordinary trips.
* “Behind The Scenes”- 29 minutes of random set footage of the cast and crew on location.

May 5, 2015 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Gael Garcia Bernal Review, The Loneliest Planet DVD