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Himalaya
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Nathalie Azoulai
Olivier Dazat
Louis Gardel
Jean-Claude Guillebaud
Directed by: Eric Valli
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 25, 2001
DVD: March 5, 2002
Running Time: 108 minutes, Color
Origin: France / Nepal / Switzerland / UK
Language(s): Tibetan with English subtitles
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Thilen Lhondup, Gurgon Kyap, Lhakpa Tsamchoe, Karma Wangel, and Karma Tensing
A universal and timeless saga that tells a story of power, pride and glory. (Kino International)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
They are naturals at acting, not because they're good at lying but because they can't be phony.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
The dance between authenticity and storymaking works beautifully.
Read Full Review >New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf
This sensuous, exotic film is more like an issue of "National Geographic" come to life, rich with cultural detail and insight.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
Himalaya does for yak caravans what "Red River" did for cattle drives: it sees them as the stuff of epic conquest.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune John Petrakis
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.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Not quite a masterpiece perhaps, but a visually stunning mountain drama, and an absorbing look at a dying culture.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Chuck Wilson
Captured extraordinary performances from a cast of non-actors, as well as magnificent images of a vast landscape.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
The plot is woven from minutely observed details that beautifully evoke a rarely seen world.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A film of unusual visual beauty and enormous intrinsic interest.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
(Valli) brings an ethnographer's eye for detail to a plot that amounts to little more than the good old generation gap.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Complexity and personality among key figures keeps Himalaya involving throughout its grueling journey and lifts the film above the merely ethnographic.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones
It's the tortoise and the hare, Nepalese-style, and it's surprisingly dramatic.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
One of the most beautiful movies you're likely to see this year. And the cast members, all amateurs, are first-rate.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Chris Fujiwara
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.
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Himalaya doesn't need a traditional story line to transport the viewer into another, fascinating world.
Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
The cast is largely nonprofessional, and the story has the simplicity of myth.
The New York Times Dana Stevens
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.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Leslie Camhi
Himalaya lacks such lightness, humor, and grace, offering instead the surface beauty of an ancient and inviolate culture.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Tyler G. gave it an 8:
Besides the wife of the deceased son, the poster girl for this movie, all of the actors are unknows from right there in Nepal. They are Dolpa-pa. Tinle and Karma appear authentic as such. The only downside was the slow beginning. But the character of Narbou adds a wonderful dimension to the complete story with his fresco, his praying and his relationship with his father, Tinle. I reccomend getting the DVD and watching the making of the movie feature. Michael - Ethno-porn? No. A worthy, well-documented effort. Just watch the making of the movie sequence and you will understand the intentions of everyone involved. Tinle and co. went in to this film with gusto and without being prodded. There is, as you say, plenty of ethnic exploitation going on out there and needs to be shot down. But try not to be hypersensitive. Give the old filter a tune-up so that you can enjoy this movie!
Michael S. gave it a 1:
HIMALAYA is Asianphilic ethno-porn. Valli's camera lingers over the leathery flesh of the Tibetans like he was shooting stills for a taxidermic showcase in a natural history museum. Oh, and the old man reaches the top of the mountain against all odds, then conveniently expires. This film leaves no cliche unturned. It is simpleminded and offensive in its fetishization of its subjects. Why so many people are lapping this up, I'll never know. Avoid.
Tasneem C. gave it a 10:
It was beautiful.
