By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.75
Director: Patrick Imbert
Starring: Damien Boisseau | Elisabeth Ventura | Eric Herson-Macarel | François Dunoyer | Kylian Rehlinger | Lazare Herson-Macarel
Original language title: Le sommet des dieux
Country: france, luxembourg
Year: 2021
Running time: 95
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7014378/reference
Diane says: “This Buried Treasure contender, a French animated adaptation of a manga, is jump-started by a tidbit of mountain-climbing lore. Photojournalist Fukamachi searches for the reclusive climber Habu, who may have the camera that George Mallory took on his fatal trip up Everest in the 1920s. Spurred on by a desire for the film in that camera, Fukamachi offers to shoot Habu on a solo climb up Everest.
“The frame of the story, with Fukamachi doing his research at home in Japan, creates a sluggish first half. The pinnacle of this film is Director Patrick Imbert’s team’s amazing scenes of the majestic and forbidding Alps and Himalayas. The climbing has just enough technical detail, and the tension ratchets up with an excellent score. 4 cats“
Michael says: “Sady this film didn’t work for me at all. There’s something about obsessive, driven men and mountain climbing that infuriates me, and this story went in all the expected places without any surprise at all. The animation wasn’t interesting enough to get me past that. 1.5 cats“