Film Details

This deliberately paced, meticulously shot (in 35mm color & scope) new art film is a tale of grief, love, friendship, and literature. The movie focuses on two couples—a German widower and his Chinese translator wife, and a Norwegian tour guide and his pregnant girlfriend—who are brought together by the poetry of Norwegian writer Tarjei Vesaas (1897-1970) to traverse a series of majestic, haunted Nordic landscapes. The film’s title is a foreign word that illustrates the indeterminacy of translation. “An astonishment, realized with a technique and a touch that are unique in the current cinema…An extraordinary and memorable film.” –The New Yorker. “Gavagai offers moments of sublimity unlike anything you’ll see in most contemporary movies.” –Village Voice. “Absolutely mesmerizing, a beautiful, beautiful film…One of the best films I've seen this year and, in fact, one of the best I've seen in quite a few years!” –David Sterritt. Subtitles. DCP. 90 min.