The Summit of Gods

 

One of the things which always baffled me was why did so many people try and do things which has 1% chance of success and 99% chance of death & not just failure. Of course, that 1% will put their name in history and give them fame & recognition.

The movie tries to answer that question and much more. We are used to seeing movies shot in Himalayas or snowy mountains with cold wind blowing and the mountaineers struggling to climb. Pictures of snowcapped mountains, Buddhist shrines, prayer flags and Gurkhas are a common sight. It takes you to a different world.

Why this movie is different is because it is hand drawn – in fact looked like watercolor. I know that Miyazaki is world class in his use of color in animations, but the storyboarding here is equal If not better. Drawing snow caped mountains which is almost white & giving it shades of greys & then that wisp of snow air / wind requires deft skill.

A glowing orange tent at night – with stars twinkling in a clear sky or the drawing of a Buddhist stupa with multicolored prayer flags blowing, or busy town with it’s linear row of buildings, flyovers, or the various things needed for mountaineering being packed & of course the technical stuff – like the knot on the rope needed to climb in a snowy mountain. Some of the images you remember long after the movie is over. And only when you look back you feel that only a mountaineer could have made this movie – else how would you know the micro details of the boulders / path which you will find when you climb a particular path to Everest. This is a passion project – because the topic is so different & it will appeal only nature + movie enthusiast.

The movie also contrasts the busy Tokyo life & a densely packed city with the vast & open mountains where time stands still. Habu – the protagonist is staying alone in a hut away from the village for 3 years and had made 8 failed attempts to climb the Everest in winter through the southwest face. So, one side there is loneliness & the challenge of climb and on the other side there is busy life filled with meetings, deadlines & the challenge of a corporate life.

The story begins with the search of a camera by a climber – Mallory who had made an attempt to climb in 19 22 but never returned. The story ends with Haibu making the same climb. Will he make it?

He doesn’t but he tries to answer the question – Why he and many others still climb? He says it is not about reaching a particular peak and end or rest. He must climb because that is the only way he knows. As soon as 1 climb is done – the search is for the next challenge.

I ran for a few years, and we did participate in a few runs before I drifted away.  But there are runners whom I know who got up at 4 and ran for 3 hrs or cycled for 4 hrs and come back. They did that before I started running and are still running – because that is the only way they know.

I don’t remember the name of one of the first animation movies I saw when I was growing up & in my innocent and clear mind I has this statement – If there is 1 thing, I want to do is to be part of this movie. Then of course life took its own path and here I am all of 52 when this thought again came to my mind after seeing this movie.

Postscript: After writing the blog I read about the director and his experience. He clarifies that he never went to Nepal or any mountains – the detailing was only research & online search.