A Devastating Survival Film

Rating: 7/10 (30 September 2015)

There is a scene before the fateful climb up Everest in which the climbers huddled togOne can view this as a disaster flick but kudos to Kormakur for not making it feel like a retread. An outstanding cast headlines the movie. However the star of the movie is definitely the humongous mountain and the treacherous storm that accompanied it. By intentionally going down a not overly dramatic path and with icy deaths portrayed matter-of-factly, the movie has a ring of authenticity around it. The triumphant feeling when the team hits the peak is never underscored in bold, but their extreme effort to reach the pinnacle is. The characters are not quite the stereotypes of typical disaster flicks - there is no one singled out as the hero and even though there is a scaredy cat he is no coward. Perhaps that is why the characters feel a little hollow and some of the back stories feel perfunctory.
The moment the film goes into survival mode, it becomes a different beast. The devastation of the Himalayan storm is ferocious and the loss of human lives is gut- wrenching. The photography and focused storytelling is exceptional. Even though at times I couldn't see who is who because of the massive gear the mountaineers are wearing, the danger is very real and nerve wrecking. The sense of cinema is huge and the whole screen is used amazingly well. I particularly love the immersive sound design which really shows you what a devastating storm up in the mountain feels like. I swear I felt the temperature dropped in the cinema and I can't wait to re-inexperience the movie in my home theatre. This is what cinema is about - the magnification of the human endeavor against the unstoppable force of nature. ether to discuss the 'why'. One said it is only when he is climbing he feels the clearest in his mind. Another said he is doing it to inspire his kids. A 47-year-old Japanese woman said she has climbed 6 peaks and this will be her 7th, her perfect 7. Finally all agreed unanimously that they were doing it "because it's there". The moment is quietly poignant because we all know most of them won't make it back alive. Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormakur has captured the thrill and spill of an ill-fated climbing party with gut-wrenching verve.