Review of The Loneliest Planet (2012) by Lisa R — 21 Jun 2012

Never in my history of going to the cinema have I witnessed more people leave a screening while the film continues to meander along. And meander it did.

Basically a three hander with very little dialogue, some of which was in different languages and without sub-title, a ploy I assume to put us in the protagonists shoes of not knowing what is happening and what people are saying, but it was just another issue with a film that was already alienating its audience by being so bloody boring.

Shot in the rugged and sometimes beautiful mountains of the Eastern European country of Georgia. We witness a young couple and their local guide walk and occasionally talk, play, drink and sing. They are happy and at peace until an incident rocks their tranquil trek and there is a distance, tension and edge put through the group as they now walk across the terrain in silence and alone even though they are still together.

I can appreciate the cinematography, the journey, the performances and ultimately what it is saying as a story, but when a film appears to basically not hire an editor and you sit through what is possibly your eighth wide shot of 3 people taking what seems to be 5 minutes to walk across the screen with some searing, but ultimately irritating music playingâ¦â¦.enough is enough.

Inspired by a short story, it should have been made into a short film and not one that runs 113 minutes.

At one point the female character sings a horrendously uninteresting song around a campfire, laughs and says âIt goes on and onâ?. Yes. It does.