The Himalaya, directed by the French Eric Valli, was released in 1999. It was nominated for the Oscar for best foreign language film and won a number of other international awards for best cinematography and music. The film is based on a true story of a community of Tibetans in Dolpo - Nepal and their seasonal struggle to lead their yak caravans across the treacherous mountains to trade their salt for grains. The film boosts stunning landscapes and breathtaking imagery accompanied by original music score that complements the storyline. Himalaya could be simply described as a biography of a Tibetan way of life that is rapidly vanishing, and a tribute to an ancient tradition that still in existence till this day.
From the first moment of the film, audiences can sense they are about to witness an adventure set to take place on a high and remote place as the title of the film suggests. However, they soon find out that the film is more than that. Himalaya in simple terms is a story that combines many elements of universal human nature. It’s the relationship between a grandfather and his grandson. It’s the relationship between man and his land. It’s the struggle for survival, and the inevitable confrontation between tradition and adventurous spirits, old age and youth.
It’s important to note that the majority of the actors in this film were neither professional nor amateurs. They were ordinary people who have never watched a movie before let alone acted in one. Nevertheless, the director was more than capable of bringing the best out of his actors and succeeded in portraying their way of life in a very spontaneous and delicate way.
The cinematography in the film can only be described as surreal paintings of pristine landscapes. Almost in every scene there is a different shot and angle of a different mountain top or plain. There were no special effects in this movie except for a fibreglass yak especially made to fall off a cliff at the film’s climax. The mountains, the plains, the day and night skies and nature were all part of the film crew and played an important role in this adventure demonstrating how life was like before the age of pollution and the industrial revolution.
One particular scene stands out in memory is the burial of the chief’s dead son who died after a trekking accident. Eric Valli used his directing skills to balance how we perceive burying rituals in the west and how they are actually performed in Dolpo. Audiences were left to guess how the body of the chief’s first son was disposed of by watching “scattered peaces of flesh” and a flock of vultures descending from the sky to dine on them. This assumption was confirmed at the end of the film in a beautiful fresco painted by the chief’s second son, where we see the body of the first son being cut to pieces in a ritual called sky burial.
Editing was notably slow paced and for a good reason. It matched the slow rhythm of life, the cumbersome climbing of high and steep mountains, and conquering snow storms. The way the film was edited made the audience wanting to know how the adventure would end and who would prove to be right, Tinle, the old man or the adventurous young man, Karma.
While Himalaya was a spiritual and human adventure for the audience, the making of the film was indeed a physical and technical adventure. It lasted nine long months instead of 79 days that were originally scheduled for shooting. However, the end results prove that a dedication to a film aimed to ensure the survival of a tradition and a way of life that might disappear in the near future was well worth the trouble, because choosing the hardest path will eventually bring out the best in those who travel on it.
Written by Sam Meddaka as a film review for 417 digital cinema class
