I was drawn to this film mainly because of Lisa Shwarzbaum's review in ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. I watched it on Netflix instant; if I had seen it in a theater, I would have walked out. This movie gives us a young couple vacationing in the mountainous regions of Georgia and expects us to care about them without giving a single reason as to why. We know nothing about their relationship, or why they chose this vacation over something else. Instead we get lengthy scenes of them walking silently that quickly grow tedious despite the pretty scenery. No attempt at character development is made, but there is a truly painful sequence in which the woman teaches their guide how to swear in English, and so he does, again and again, for what seems like forever. After an hour of sheer boredom, our couple runs into a man and two children. The man pulls a gun on them, and then reconsiders. Why? Who knows?! Amazingly, this dangerous encounter is never discussed by the couple or their guide. Instead it's back to more boring scenes of them walking. And another dull scene of the woman singing at the camp fire! Generally speaking, I'm fan of so called "art films" (loved PARIAH and FOOTNOTE earlier last year), but this film? It's every excess of the art film laid bare in all it's boring glory. I have no idea why this has gotten good reviews...
Review of The Loneliest Planet
