Himalaya : L'Enfance d'un chef

US or European movies about non-US, non-European people are usually faulty, even when they mean well : often, they need to use some bland occidental character (think Brad Pitt in "7 years in Tibet"), or the non-occidental people are actually occidental people with make-up and funny accents, or everybody speaks English but the bad guys, or everybody behaves like a bunch of Californian housewives or New York traders. So I was a little apprehensive about "Himalaya". Fortunately, French director Eric Valli knows the Himalayan (Dolpo) people he's filming, he has been living with them for years and speaks their language. So what we got here is a true movie, with true cinematic characters, a true plot and no condescending stuff. It's actually amazing to behold a story where the people have problems so remote from the ones someone from Paris, France can have (like having to set up a 2-weeks cattle drive across Himalaya to trade salt against barley), and however these problems and emotions are made more real than, say, a comedy about bourgeoisie with sex trouble. Not that the plot is truly original : it deals, in a rather classic way and not unlike some war movies, with the essence of leadership (the original French title is "Himalaya, the youth of a chief"). What makes a leader, and how and why can leadership be challenged ? Why people do follow some leaders and not other ? From what we see in the film, these are questions that people who live in such extreme conditions find of extreme importance. Add a magnificent scenery (no need for filters for clear blue lakes there) and talented actors who literally inhabit their complex roles (partly because they've been in situations like this or know people who have), and here is one impressive adventure movie.

If you believe film should be an artform, then you'll love Himalaya. As the director states in the bonus audio track, the production team did not identify and write to a "target market" when developing the screen writing, they did not follow the dreary Hollywood "recipe" for film-making, and, most importantly, they did use non-actors to portray almost all the lead and back-up roles.

Tinle, the lead character, is a treasure. The first time I viewed the movie, I thought, 'what a wonderful actor.' His timing is exact yet unpredictable, his personality forceful, his face is exquisite, his form unique and authentic. A natural, I thought. Indeed, he plays himself in a quasi-autobiography, and what a wonderful character he is.

This is a movie about an ancient civilization we are losing and, sadly, will soon be lost. Really, its a documentary, and, as the director states, will certainly be used by future historians as a visual artifact of what is soon to become the lost Dolpo civilization of Nepal. The soundtrack conditions you to this heartbreaking reality.

The movie is successful on many levels: a mother's lost love (who hasn't seen her adult child since he was eight); a loving grandfather/grandson relationship, which is painfully lost; a wife who loses her husband, and a young boy who loses his father then attempts to make sense out of the loss; a young religious man who chooses the 'difficult' path over the easy monastic life; a classic confrontation between generations; and an old man whose entire life is built on strength, perseverance, and admiration, but then who ultimately must let go of it all to those who are destined to succeed him.

I loved this movie. It made me think of my mother, an artist, whom I miss dearly. Himalaya is a work of art.

This film is simply beautiful to watch. The cinematography is absolutely stunning, the music and directorial mood is captivating. The film is light on plot and the little bit of intrigue sort of fades away, but that really doesn't matter.

I have been to the Himalayas (Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan) and it is really hard to capture the exquisite beauty of the place and the grace of the Buddhist people who dwell there. This film captures that beauty and grace.

If you have any interest in that part of the world and its people, this film will hold your attention and inspire your imagination. How? I don't know, perhaps some of that Himalayan magic rubbed off on the film crew.

This movie captured me from moment one. The roughness of the mountains and the raw beauty of nature combined with human endurance and frailty is woven into an stunning epic of love, courage and man's recognition of the unknown and contradictions of nature.

A definite MUST!

One reviewer asks if we (Westerners) can ever see the world through another's (non-Westerner) eyes. Good question. There's no 'yes' or 'no' answer because we can't get into people's heads. The cultural viewpoint from the standpoint of the actor in the cultural setting is always different from the outsider. As intruders into that world, we can observe, wonder and learn. Yes, indeed like voyeurs, my friend but these are not "primitive" people. These are people who have adapted to a way of life and developed means of coping with it. Since many of these people live isolated lives, the cultural diffusion of technology invades their worlds slowly. (We anthropologists see this fact as a mercy) This film is a wonder. As one reviewer asks, can we watch a film for over a 100 minutes of people walking? It depends. What do you want? Adventure? Rent a Hollywood spawn with phony chases, lots of CGI and god-awful writing. This is a simple story but one basic to the human condition. Loss, death, coming of age, transition, love and resurrection. This film is full of archetypes but without the contrived devices found in so many Western films. The adventure is that of the daily lives of these people who live always on the edge. It is most unfair to judge this simple tale and its depiction from the same viewpoint of another mythic journey. There's only the violence of nature and the triumph of human will to survive-- not happily ever after, but just for another day. As an anthropologist who spent over 25 years working with pastoralists (nomadic herders) in Africa, Central Asia, South America and the Middle East, I was delighted with this unpretentious story. I never worked with yak or reindeer [I highly recommend the exceptional "Pathfinder" for an excellent view of the Lapps]herders and the presentation certainly squared with everything I've read about these dynamic, wonderful people.