Himalaya

Good, believable performances by the actors. Has some nicely done moments of emotion. Based on true events.

Beautiful scenery in a beautiful humanity story. The himalayas made them see their real self as truly human being where compassion naturally arises in hardship.

Those Korean men must be the most emotional males on Earth! That's how they are depicted in this Korean epic where just about every male actor cries! It would come as no surprise if Kleenex had sponsored the film. It's just a shame that these brave, intrepid explorers are reduced to a quivering, sobbing mess as it undermines their courage and tenacity to conquer mountains. If it's melodrama you want then this serves it up by the bucketloads.

Hong-Gil Um (Jeong-min Hwang) and Moo-Taek Park (Jung Woo) first meet in the early 1990s when they endure a grueling climb up Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. They become friends and later that decade, become the 14th team to scale the Himalayas. However, Hong-Gil is forced to retire after sustaining a serious injury. Several years later, Hong-Gil is a renowned lecturer and Moo-Taek takes up an assignment to climb Mount Everest. Disaster strikes and Hong-Gil must come out of retirement to again face the challenges of the world's highest mountain.

This is probably Korean drama at its best but would be considered excessive melodrama for English speaking audiences. The not-so- subtle acting just doesn't cross the cultural divide. There's no doubting that all the actors inject their emotions wholeheartedly into their roles but a sobfest is not the answer. I wouldn't know how other moviegoers reacted as I was the only person in the cinema. When the actors are not crying uncontrollably, it's quite an enjoyable film. I just don't want my emotions to be manipulated like this.

Although Sang-joon Hwang's music score is beautiful to listen to, it is clear that it has been designed to contribute to the melodrama. On its own, it's musical brilliance but when it is accompanied with the images it is overly sympathetic and manipulative.

The cinematography, particularly of the mountainous regions, is grand and spectacular. No expense has been spared in filming the climbs and the outdoor locations. The visual and sound effects also bring to life the treacherous conditions the climbers had to face.

Based on true events, "The Himalayas" wears its heart on its sleeve. There's nothing wrong with that in small doses but when it's close to two hours of everyone crying then it becomes repetitive. It is still an enjoyable film at times that will be appreciated by those viewers who are not fussed with excessive melodrama. http://mlaimlai2.wix.com/magical-movie-review

By far, this movie leaves every other Himalayan climbing movie in the dust. The images of the climbing teams were so realistic and depicted so beautifully that it left me in awe. Having been around tall mountains, I can safely say that the mountain scenes was very well done.

The movie also captured the 'tank' personality of the main character Captain Um. He is a driven man, and the story reveals how much that impacts his life and work. It also smoothly depicts the age/stature value that is practices so clearly by Koreans. The lead actor did a tremendous job of getting Captain Um's character, his mannerisms and attitude.

Of course the movie is emotional, I had to see it in two sittings. That emotional aspect of the film is what gives it its human quality - after all the whole expedition to rescue a dead teammate is very much a human reaction. I am very glad that the movie took in stride the god times, as well as the very sad times in a very realistic way. I loved the scenery of South Korea as well, the movie blended these city scenes with the mountain scenes in a balanced way.

Fantastic movie! And yes, bring the tissues.

Less exploitative than 2015's Everest, this is impressively photographed, and it tells an interesting story (Sherpas searching for the body of their friend, following an accident which took his life), but it is uneven (largely a buddy movie) and it's so depressing to know that it is about a real death, and more people risking their own lives out of respect for their dead friend's remains. The filmmakers tried to counter that with humorous scenes of them bonding, unsuccessfully.

Film is not *bad*, just mediocre, and depressing. Surprisingly, this Korean release made considerably more money in Korea than the new Star Wars did.

http://m.themalaymailonline.com/showbiz/article/Himalayas-beats-star- wars-the-force-awakens-in-korean-Christmas-box-office Survival drama "The Himalayas" remained on top of the Korean box office during the three-day Christmas holiday weekend.

SEOUL, Dec 29 — The South Korean movie "Himalayas" has broken national box office records and held onto the top spot at the box office, warding off competition from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Survival movie "Himalayas" has become Korea's most successful Christmas-period movie, earning US$12.2 million (RM52.37 million) between Friday, December 25 and Sunday, December 27. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" remains in second place with US$7.01 million over the same weekend.