Four recent films about Everest, from Hollywood affair to gritty documentaries
It’s not just climbers who are fascinated by the world’s highest peak – filmmakers and moviegoers are too
Everest and the Himalayas have long held a fascination for filmmakers. Here are some recent productions that tell tales from the mountains.
More people, including Hongkongers, vie to climb Mount Everest despite dangers
The Himalayas (2015): Korean director Lee Seok-hoon also turns his attention to a real expedition that enthralled his country in 2004, when a group of climbers took to Everest to retrieve the body of a friend who had perished near the summit. Again, it’s a star-studded affair (among them Hwang Jung-min and Jung Woo) but suffers from rather unconvincing special effects and some ill-advised scenes that are played for laughs but only lessen the inherent drama.
You can’t really have an each-way bet with such matters – given, again, that it’s based on real events and real people – and the film just seems to be a wasted opportunity, given the subject matter. Still, it grossed a respectable US$45.8 million.
Sherpa (2015): What documentary maker Jennifer Peedom had in her favour here was timing – as horrible as that might seem in the aftermath of another Everest tragedy. Setting out to look into the lives of Sherpas (through the story of Phurba Tashi), her cameras were rolling as 16 of them perished in an avalanche in 2014.