UK Mall 1 - Himalaya [2004]

As the film begins in a remote section of Nepal, the body of village chief Lhapka is brought back to town after he died in a mountain accident. His father and former chief, Tinle (Thilen Lhondup), immediately charges his son's friend Karma (Gurgon Kyap) with being instrumental in the death so that he might assume the chieftanship. Now, it wasn't completely clear to me how the village leader was selected, except that an essential qualification was the ability to guide a yak caravan loaded with salt over the mountains to a market where the mineral is traded for the grain on which the village survives. Otherwise, the chief's position was perhaps hereditary, but confirmed by popular consensus. In any case, the question of who'll lead the next caravan is now at issue. Tinle is thought to be too old, though he vehemently disagrees, and his second son, Norbou (Karma Tensing), is a meek monk who only knows how to paint and pray. Lhapka's son, Tsering (Karma Wangiel), is but a seven year-old boy. Meanwhile, the village seers consult the gods and decree the caravan should leave in 10 days. Karma, somewhat of a hothead, convinces the village's young bucks to follow him with their yaks four days early to avoid the inevitable snow storm. Tinle follows with the old codgers (and their old yaks) on the appointed day. Tinle's group is accompanied by Norbou, Tsering and the latter's mother, Pema (Lhakpa Tsamchoe). Stubborness and macho pride cause Tinle to flog his caravan to a fast pace along a perilous route such that it can catch up with Karma's before both reach a crucial mountain pass.

The best thing about HIMALAYA is the scenery, and the bigger the viewing screen the better. With bright eyes flashing out of a dusky face, the next best is the exotic beauty of Pema. Otherwise, I'm not sure why the producers went to the trouble. This isn't so much a bad film as one just too long and unnecessary. No truth about the posturing to achieve dominance is illustrated that can't be observed by any conscious individual on a daily basis in national, office, peer group, or family politics. Perhaps the value of HIMALAYA is that it reduces the stage to one of stark simplicity, and clearly makes the point that the shifting alliances (Pema, Tsering) or wise advice (Norbou) of third parties sometimes renders the contest between adversaries to something no longer worth the effort. On a personal level, I was unsympathetic to the Tinle character whose leadership style seemed centered around shrill, indignant yelling. (No Shackleton or Churchill here.) So, whether it was to be good or bad Karma, I simply didn't care much from early on.

Oh, the yaks' shaggy coats were way cool.

The story, which is based upon real life events, details a generational struggle between the young and the old. The storyline is simple. This isolated village is dependent upon trading its salt for grain, so that the village may survive. To do so, a caravan of yaks must make an arduous trek through the Himalayan Mountains to Nepal to effect such a trade. When one such caravan returns to the village, the caravan chief, is dead, and his body has been brought back to the village by his best friend, Karma. The dead chief's father and tribal council memeber, Tinle, crazed with grief, suspects Karma of having brought about his son's death in an attempt to take his place as chief of the caravan. His dead son has left behind a beautiful wife, Pema, whom Karma covets, and a young son, whom Tinle wants designated as chief, despite his youth.

This sets into play a power struggle between Tinle and Karma, both of whom are headstrong and wilful. After the traditional sky burial for the dead caravan chief, this clash of wills results in two seperate caravans setting out on the salt trading trek. One is led by Karma who, accompanied by the village youth, defiantly leads his caravan out of the village before the date designated by the village lamas. The other is led by Tinle, who has persuaded his other son, Norbou, a Buddhist monk, to assist him. Accompanied by the elders of his village, as well as by his dead son's widow and young son, Tinle follows tradition and leaves on the date that the lamas have designated as being most propitious for the difficult journey. The film details each of the respective journeys, as well as the continuing battle of wills between the two leaders. The risks that Tinle takes on the journey in order to to catch up with Karma, is captured in all its starkly beautiful, cinematic majesty and will leave viewers sitting on the edge of their seats.

Set against a breathtaking backdrop of Himalayan beauty, this is a must see film. The performances by those in lead roles are compelling. Thilen Lhondup, a real life former yak man who had fled Tibet during its invasion by China, is charismatic and powerful as Tinle. Gurgon Kyap imbues the role of the headstrong Karma with a youthful vigor and machismo. Lhakpa Tsamchoe, an exotic beauty who hails from Southern India by way of Tibetan parents, is wonderfully serene in the role of Pema. Karma Wangel is absolutely adorable as Tinle's grandson and will steal the viewers' hearts.

Anthropologically rich and visually beautiful, it took the director nine months to film this movie. The daunting logistics, the unpredictable weather, and the use of mostly non-actors contributed to this being a time consuming project. In order to mainatain as much authenticity as possible, this film was shot entirely on location and the villagers even wore their own clothing in the film. The director's care and effort paid off, however, as this is one of the most stunningly beautiful films ever made. The musical score by Bruno Coulais is haunting, capturing the soaring majesty of the region, as well as some of its mystique. It also offers what I believe to be Tibetan throat singing, a somewhat esoteric form of singing/chanting not often heard in the western world.

This film, which was first released under the title "Caravan", was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2000. I believe that it lost to Pedro Almodovar's film, "About My Mother", which is also an excellent movie. Having seen both films, however, there is no doubt in my mind that Valli's film should have been the one to walk away with the Academy Award.

This is a must have film for those who are interested other cultures, the Himalayas, and, quite simply, a great movie.