The Cinematheque

VIFF 2021

What do we see when we look at our lover? And our lover, looking back, do they see us? In Alexandre Koberidze’s enchanting second feature (after Let the Summer Never Come Again), Lisa and Giorgi are destined to fall in love, but no sooner do they meet and set a date than they are cursed to begin again, reincarnated. Unrecognizable even to themselves, they wander the modern, ancient city of Kutaisi, Georgia, and start to construct new, parallel lives. Can love draw these strangers back together? A mischievous, magical realist fairy tale, wryly narrated by Koberidze himself, What Do We See When Look at the Sky? is not so much engaged in plot mechanics as it is enamored by the peculiarities and possibilities of place. Playful and discursive, the film is as invested in—and enraptured by—stray dogs, music, children, and soccer games (it’s set during the 1990 World Cup) as it is in the progress of Giorgi and Lisa. At one point, Koberidze asks us to close our eyes for a spell, an invitation which—if accepted—seals this delicious movie’s bewitching spell.

Cast: Ani Karseladze, Giorgi Bochorishvili, Oliko Barbakadze, Giorgi Ambroladze, Vakhtang Panchulidze

Contemporary World Cinema: The world’s best boldest creators and their exceptional works. The year’s most anticipated international films and new discoveries curated specifically for VIFF audiences.