Spinning the Reel
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Best of Lists
    • 2017 List
    • 2018 List
    • 2019 List
    • 2020 List
    • 2021 List
  • Podcast
  • About Us

AFI Fest 2021: What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?

11/12/2021

Comments

 

Evan D.

Picture
A tale as old as time, how much can true love transcend? Is it simply an intertwining of attractions or is love something more, something so inherent to our very being that we’ll find our way back to it under even the most dire of circumstances? These are questions Georgian filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze poses, if never really answering, in What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?
Lisa (Oliko Barbakadze), a pharmacist, and Giorgi (Giorgi Ambroladze), a footballer, cross paths one morning and immediately fall for one another. In an effort to avoid leaving their next meeting up to fate, the pair plan a date for the next evening. Unfortunately for the star crossed lovers, fate had other ideas. A curse levied in that moment would change each of their appearances upon their awakening the next morning.

Koberidze starts with such an electrifying premise that his abandoning of that central narrative for much of the two and a half hour runtime feels extremely frustrating. What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? ambles through the streets of Kutaisi Georgia, examining the bar preferences of dogs and the World Cup rooting interests of residents, almost entirely abandoning the romance that teed off the film.

Further to the challenging nature of this film, much of it takes place in muted vignettes where the cast of seemingly charismatic actors converse silently over intense, fantastical score. A common theme, What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? undermines its own charms — be it acting, cinematography, plot — at every opportunity. To make matters worse, blunting these elements appears to be a feature not a bug.

It isn’t until well over halfway through Koberidze’s film that the narrator finally begins to hint at the true purpose of the story. Why does it matter? That is the ultimate charge. When the world is being ravaged and animals slaughtered, what difference do the troubles of one couple make? Fair in principle but an infuriating when you’ve asked your audience to invest in this place and these characters for nearly three hours.

For all the faults that What Doe We See When We Look at the Sky? simply cannot overcome, it can certainly tout it’s visual inventiveness. Sequences depicting the sheer joy of a group of children playing soccer or a ball floating down a rolling river, the aesthetics are worthy of a much better film. Still, as the end credits roll, it’s hard not to wish for a deeper examination of the intriguing premise. 5/10

What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? is playing in very limited release starting today (11/12/21)
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

    Categories

    All
    AFI 2021
    Author: Cody
    Author: Emily
    Author: Evan
    Awards
    Commentary
    Festival
    Reviews
    Sundance 2021
    Throwback Thursday
    Year In Review

    Archives

    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018

Interact on Our Socials!

  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Best of Lists
    • 2017 List
    • 2018 List
    • 2019 List
    • 2020 List
    • 2021 List
  • Podcast
  • About Us