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Himalaya
Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
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  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    100
    They are naturals at acting, not because they're good at lying but because they can't be phony.
  2. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    90
    The dance between authenticity and storymaking works beautifully.
  3. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Gregory Weinkauf
    90
    This sensuous, exotic film is more like an issue of "National Geographic" come to life, rich with cultural detail and insight.
  4. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: John Petrakis
    88
    Most of the performers have limited acting experience, but they are perfect for their parts, exhibiting the courage, stamina and wariness essential to live in such a harsh environment.
  5. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    88
    Himalaya does for yak caravans what "Red River" did for cattle drives: it sees them as the stuff of epic conquest.
  6. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    83
    Not quite a masterpiece perhaps, but a visually stunning mountain drama, and an absorbing look at a dying culture.
  7. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Chuck Wilson
    80
    Captured extraordinary performances from a cast of non-actors, as well as magnificent images of a vast landscape.
  8. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    A film of unusual visual beauty and enormous intrinsic interest.
  9. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    75
    The plot is woven from minutely observed details that beautifully evoke a rarely seen world.
  10. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    It's human drama, high and mighty.
  11. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    (Valli) brings an ethnographer's eye for detail to a plot that amounts to little more than the good old generation gap.
  12. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    70
    Complexity and personality among key figures keeps Himalaya involving throughout its grueling journey and lifts the film above the merely ethnographic.
  13. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kimberley Jones
    67
    It's the tortoise and the hare, Nepalese-style, and it's surprisingly dramatic.
  14. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    63
    Himalaya doesn't need a traditional story line to transport the viewer into another, fascinating world.
    All this critic's reviews
  15. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    63
    One of the most beautiful movies you're likely to see this year. And the cast members, all amateurs, are first-rate.
  16. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Chris Fujiwara
    63
    Valli's touch as an artist is too light, and his dramatic sense too timid, to make the film much more than a collection of pretty pictures.
    All this publication's reviews
  17. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    60
    The cast is largely nonprofessional, and the story has the simplicity of myth.
    All this critic's reviews
  18. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Leslie Camhi
    60
    Himalaya lacks such lightness, humor, and grace, offering instead the surface beauty of an ancient and inviolate culture.
  19. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    60
    Somehow, in spite of the stunning vistas and some witty and affecting moments, the story seems to unfold at a distance; the human drama is diminished by the setting rather than amplified by it.
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