The world of writer-director Veit Helmer’s Gondola is established early, with the incongruous sight of a coffin being transported through the air via a narrow cable car, or gondola, with the ends of the coffin sticking out at either side. That vision tells you everything you need to know about the kind of humour and heart you’re about to see over the next 80 minutes.
Set in the mountains of western Georgia, this simple and sweet tale of two women finding love as they pass each other in the sky is told without dialogue. As its charming vignettes and romantic sketches unfold, it is hard to not to fall in love with both women and their world, even when it is less than perfect.
Iva (Mathilde Irrmann) gets a job as a conductor on the cable car in the mountains, mainly because she fits the uniform shoved at her by her boss (Zuka Papuashvili). As she passes Nina (Nini Soselia), the conductor of the other cable car, they get to know each other through games and gifts as they ferry the locals from side to side. The playful flirtation between them evolves as the two concoct ever more resourceful ways to spend time together.
The world of Gondola is frozen in time. A world of simplicity and community. As the locals take part in Iva and Nina’s budding relationship from afar, they play music and cheer as the women move above them. As two village children begin a tentative friendship, the two women are part muse and part co-conspirators.
Gondola feels like a heartwarming queer meet-cute expanded into a feature length movie. As their flirtations grow more grandiose, they stretch the limits of believability but never so far as to break the charming spell that the film casts. The reliance on simple, clear storytelling makes this a universal experience in which love is love, and the only enemy is jealousy. Through the lens of cinematographer Goga Devdariani, Georgia is luscious and this is as much a romance with the location as it is between the two women.
An antidote to the cluttered films that scream and shout, Gondola is a warm smile writ large on the screen. With a tone reminiscent of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amélie, this romantic, enchanting, funny and fanciful film will have you leaving the cinema uplifted.
By Chad Armstrong
Gondola receives its Australia Premiere as the Closing Night Film at the 11th Queer Screen Film Fest in Sydney on Sunday, September 1st, 2024. Head to queerscreen.org.au for tickets and more information.
Leave a Reply