Day 5: I Heart the Hidden Gems

In the rush of screenings and red carpet madness that is
TIFF, to find a quiet film that acts as a temporary escape and a contemplative log to rest one’s head is a priceless sanctuary. Experimental director’s Julia Loktev (Day Night Day) latest feature film,
The Loneliest Planet — part of
TIFF’s Vision’s programme — is exactly that: an all-absorbing piece of intelligent and nuanced cinema that audiences carry with them out the theatre. The story of young couple — Alex (Gael García Bernal) and Nica (Hani Furstenberg) — The Loneliest Planet tracks the events that unfold between the pair while on a hiking trip in Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains, and an unexpected “incident” that unravels the couple’s view of themselves, each other and their wider view of the world. A slower paced film, characterized by unconventional extended silences, star Gael García Bernal thinks that this quiet feature will still be able to appeal to wider audiences, “I think they’ll get something out of it,” adding, “I don’t like film to have a niche.” Completely free of restrictive genre constraints, The Loneliest Planet, is not a film to be missed by any cinema lover in need of a bit of a shakeup. Refreshing moment of the day: Co-stars
Gael García Bernal and
Hani Furstenberg, unwinding and catching up over cookies and tea before our interview.
Last screening: Sunday September 18 Isabel Bader Theatre 10:00am