Broad Peak

No matter the subject - most Polish movies are like that - long silent scenes. Marriage scene - long silent scenes. Thriller to be, showing survival - long silent scenes.

Althought the story is quite simple, is is all messed up and made complicated (it usually is in Polish movies).

Poorly chosen music. Even when orchestral, which is surprising... Years are passing, new creators are coming and Polish movies remain the same.

They are simply boring and hard to watch.

On top of that (but this is a problem only for Polish watchers), again, like in every Polish movie, you can't hear or understand what they are saying. So I turn the volume up and up and up and then music scenes make my walls shake. Each and every time the same.

Such an inspiring film of courage and perseverance. It's well shot and heartbreaking to know the story but well worth it. Humans ! Well made and a story worth telling. He lost everything the first time and for 17 mts had to go back and lost his life. I am speechless! Only curious as to how did the team know he didn't make it to the top when they weren't there and that it was exact 17 mts. Would love to understand that. What a team tough. The movie captures it subtly but well. The mountains are exceptionally beautiful and who wouldn't feel the desire to go ! I wish I could. Film is very well shot.

As "Broad Peak" (2022 release from Poland; 102 min.) opens, we are in "Karakoram, March 1988" as we see a mountain climber digging a shelter in the side of a mountain, desperately clinging on to life. We then go to "A Week Earlier" as Polish expedition is faltering on K2, and Majiej Berbeka and one other climber decide to abandon that climb and instead try to ascend the nearby Broad Peak on a whim, without support, and in -40C weather conditions. What could go wrong? At this point we are 10 min into the movie.

Couple of comments: this movie is a Polish production, and the entire cast was unfamiliar to me. Not had I ever heard of Maciej Berbeka, whose real life exploits are the basis of the move. Let me just outright say it: I was surprised, in the best possible way, with this production, which is top notch from start to finish. The climbing scenes are terrific, and terrifying. From the looks of it, a good part of the film was staged in the actual Karakoram mountain range in Pakistan. The footage of that is simply spectacular. The fact that there are some significant plot twists along the way doesn't hurt either...

"Broad Peak" premiered on Netflix a few days ago. I had read a heads up about this film somewhere on line, and was immediately intrigued. So glad I checked it out. If you are in the mood for a thoroughly entertaining (and more) extreme sports movie, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

This is a typical film that should not have been made. The story that may have happened is not interesting for a moment. The scenes are sloppily tied together where there is hardly a story to discover. Apart from the fact that I do not understand mountain climbers, this is the worst film I have ever seen about the subject. The story is incoherent and the actors do not seem to be interested. I watched it for half an hour and then I knew, not worth it. It remains a shame that there are film makers who are not able to film this kind of subject better. In a word, a soporific, sloppy work, a waste of my time.

Wonder how can such an acclaimed director blow off such a fantastic story. We get attechet to absolutely no characters in the films. The story just passes by quickly, with no emotions nor suspense. Dialogues are rare, fragmented and have no relevance to the story. There are neither any questions nor answers in this film. Even the clibmbing scene es have no sense. We don know who is Berbeka, why he is climbing and what is it all about. His wife is completely in a shadow with no meaningful dialogues between them. There was such a great opportunity in this movie. Unfortunately we cannot experience it. I am soooo disappointed.