A touch of magic lights up the ‘Sky’

Girl meets boy in the streets of Eastern Europe’s Kutaisi, Georgia, sparking a timid attraction. However, before their first date comes to pass, a curse befalls them. Overnight, their physical appearance will change drastically, preventing them from recognizing each other.

That’s the setup for the most entrancingly feel-good movie of the year, which urges you tell anyone who’d listen about its wondrous existence so they can bask in its soul-soothing magic too.

A fairy-tale romance, a soccer (or football) saga, a portrait of small-town charm and an ode to unencumbered youth are all wrapped up in the radiantly playful “What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?” from writer, director and perspicacious narrator Alexandre Koberidze.

Employed by the same man, Lisa (Ani Karseladze) and Giorgi (Giorgi Bochorishvili) meet again in their new bodies, oblivious to their true identities. We take their transformation as fact with the same openhearted trust as when this film asks us to briefly close our eyes to preserve its whimsy. Subdued visual flourishes abound, as do lively transitions, pointed wide shots, and eclectic editing practices.

With his cinematic imagination operating at peak potency, Koberidze’s directorial feat summons the essence of Abbas Kiarostami’s “The Traveler,” the trenchant voice-over of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Amélie” and the musical agility of bygone silent classics (the composer is Giorgi Koberidze).

Through its ever-replenishing ability to reveal the exceptional from what we thought ordinary, “Sky” introduces us to local dogs with complex social interactions, as well as a filmmaking team on the prowl for singular couples. And as we check in with Lisa, a former pharmacist, and Giorgi, previously a footballer, their connection shows signs of reversing the unfortunate spell — with some help from the truth-revealing powers of a camera.

Side effects may include the discharge of joyful tears washing over a nostalgic grin.