Gondola: a review of the film that tells a love story without a word

Transforming a simple means of transport into a stage for everyday poetry. This is what German director Veit Helmer has done with Gondola, his latest film recently released in Italian cinemas, distributed by Draka and Coccinelle Film Sales. Filmed in the mountains of Georgia, the film draws its inspiration from the characteristic mountain cable cars of the region, which effectively become the protagonists of a light and enchanting story.

The plot, delicate but not trivial, follows the events of two cable car operators: Nina, a somewhat cynical veteran (Nino Soselia), and Iva, the naive newcomer (Mathilde Irrmann). Every day the two girls cross paths with their respective cabins as one ascends and the other descends to the valley. What is a normal and sleepy work routine – we are talking about a village inhabited mostly by grumpy elderly people and animals who, with absolute naturalness, travel by cable car as if they were regular passengers – soon becomes for the two young women an opportunity for almost magical encounters, made of glances, smiles, small gestures, and disguises of the two cabins, a prelude to a small and tender long-distance love story.

Their inflexible supervisor, however, resents this relationship and decides to sabotage their union... 

The film's most audacious and successful choice is the total absence of dialogue. A silence that not only intensifies the dreamlike component of the story but also envelops the romantic relationship that blossoms between Nina and Iva with an even more precious tenderness. With a touch of magical realism, the director paints their love as a natural and playful fact, set in a context – the mountains of Georgia and its villages – where the viewer is convinced that anything can ultimately happen, if only one desires it and surrenders to the silent poetry of the places.