'Himalaya' tells the story of Himalayan peasants undertaking a perilous trek in order to trade the goods they need to survive the winter. It could therefore have been a realistic film about the everyday hardship of life in this beautiful but hostile part of the world. Instead it combines this everyday setting with a banal, clichéd foreground plot involving love, and the succession of tribal leadership, which never exceeds the sophistication you'd expect in a fairy-story. It's hard to see what the French film-makers involved in this production were attempting to achieve: the result is neither action-packed nor truly authentic, leaving the viewer with little to do but admire the mountainous backdrop.
Review of Himalaya
