Finding Michael

Spencer Matthews has 0 emotion throughout. What should be an emotional search for his brother, comes across as staged and narcissistic. I enjoyed all the parts that didn't include him. There is a running theme of privilege, he has paid others to risk their lives, while he says at the bottom in his nice tent eating a hot meal, stressed that his Walky Talky isn't working. He didn't do anything! Then returns home stating he now know what it's like to reach the summit, in his multi million pound holiday home.

If this followed the Nepalese guy and the search for his brother, this would be a much more well recieved documentary.

This doc film charts Spencer Matthews' quest to find the body of his brother who dies near the peak of Everest. There's a lot that's beautiful - particularly the footage of the mountain and the story of Michael who seems like a wonderful human. What lets it down is Spencer's lack of emotional depth, as he seems nearly throughout to see this as an exciting &wide-eyed adventure, not a deep, personal experience it ought to be. Moreover, watching Nims bounce across the mountain 'body-hunting' just feels in really bad taste, and disrespectful to all that die there. Left a sour taste, if I'm honest.

Bit apprehensive after reading some of the reviews, but thought it was worth the watch. Some people need to calm down about the "priveledge" aspect - of course they couldn't afford to attempt this without financial/media backing, and at the end of the day the sherpas traverse mountains for a living - their whole career has inherent risk, they are paid to fulfill other people's wishes.

I think it conveys the risks of extreme mountaineering well, and shows the devastation that the loss of a loved one in such a circumstance can have on the family left behind.

Spencer does have a bit of a cold soulless exterior, which can be a tad hard to warm to. Good cinematography.

First let me say: Spencer and his family are not likely to win over too many people what with their apparent lack of any real emotion. They really do come across as privileged rich folk who are doing this more for fame than money. BUT if you watch this as a documentary about Everest rather than about this family, it really is quite an incredible story. It is incredibly sad that Michael lost his life climbing Mt Everest, and anyone would understand the desire to recover his body. They obviously have the means to fund an unbelievably expensive and dangerous needle in a haystack search, so they did! Good for them.

That's what this story is about. Simply put, this is documentary about an incredible search-and-recovery attempt undertaken by the world's greatest climbers.

All the reviews claiming this film is purely about a privileged English dude putting Sherpas' lives at risk are really doing a disservice to the amazing team of climbers that Nimsdai leads. To paint this team as just an under-privileged group of Nepalese locals who are being taken advantage of is incredibly reductive and insulting! They are undermining the unbelievable skill and strength of Nims and his team. Not only are they elite climbers who completely understand (and are well-equipped to take on) the danger and difficulty of the task, Nims has also made a huge name for himself and this is great exposure for him and his company! If you pay attention his branding is absolutely everywhere: the helicopter, the whole camp, all their clothes, even the mug that Spencer is drinking from! Nimsdai and his company and his team are not just some poor locals with no choice but to climb for white people. They're incredible athletes with a strong connection to the mountain that deserve respect and deserve recognition.

People who watch this with that in mind will truly be blown away.

It started out as a sympathetic story, and of course, it is a family tragedy. As we watched, my husband and I were wowed by the spectacular houses the family lived in as much as the Everest climb. What do these people DO for a living? We wondered how they carved out the time to plan and make the trip. Do they work?

The real story came out well into the movie, when they shared that their 22-year-old son climbed Mt Everest wearing a Rolex watch. And the real story is the tone-deafness of the family and filmers. The movie is silent on the subject of the family affluence set against the poverty of the Sherpas. It's no sin to be rich but own the privilege! Talk about the cost of the expedition, the Sherpa's compensation, the risks they took -- make the story about the Sherpas as much as the other characters -- they are the real heroes here.

The "well, as long as we're up here" return of the Sherpa body was distasteful. Filming weeping children. Honestly.