Himalaya (1999)

When I was in Nepal in November, 1999, I had the great pleasure of attending an early screening of the finest movie I have ever seen and I strongly recommend "Himalaya" (Caravan) as something you might also enjoy seeing when it opens at a theater in your area. I waited expectantly for 18 months for it to come to Denver where I could see it again and it finally happened in May. Since then I have seen it 3 more times and it still gives me an emotional high each time. It's not quite like seeing it with 500 Nepali natives in Kathmandu where I was the only person who knew what was going on since no one else could read the English subtitles nor understand the Tibetan dialogue.

The French director, Eric Valli, made this incredible film( nominated for Academy Award as Best Foreign Film in 2000) in the Dolpo region of northwestern Nepal on the Tibetan border using native people instead of professional actors. It is a fictional account of how those people actually live there in extreme isolation and is documentary in the sense that it records a way of life which will gradually disappear as more modern influence comes to the area as it has in so much of Nepal. The filming is extraordinary, the scenery is spectacular, the action is lifelike, the characters are real and the mysterious music is intriguing. When you see it you may understand the huge task of making the film under very difficult conditions.

Fmovies: This film may not be everyone's cup of tea but it is served in a gorgeous and delicate teacup. The story is simple, perhaps too simple. But it is drawn against the magnificent background of Nepal. Even bad photography would be good in that part of the world but the camera work in Himalaya is superb, sensitive and sweeping, richly textured and impressively framed. The most amazing aspect of this rare film is that none of the performers are actors! They play themselves flawlessly. The faces, frequently in harsh close up, are noble and full of character. Hollywood never could duplicate one silver haired old woman who is a living work of art. The children are beautiful and lack any self consciousness whatsoever in front of the camera. Utterly amazing! It's a movie for film freaks and those who appreciate fine photography. But somehow the world is a slightly better place because it was made!

I'm glad I've seen this one at the movie theater! Such a beautiful piece of photography will, of course, look great on the TV, too. And the story is by no means secondary: a warm tale of human endurance, indeed. But watching those images of Nepal on the big screen was just something I thank heavens I was able to do! Delightful!

Himalaya fmovies. I don't rate movie's at a ten lightly so when thinking about what to rate this Cinematic experience (it's not just movie or film) but i will refer to it as that from here on, i was going to give it an 8 or 9 but the more i thought about it the more i realized that the only reason for this would be that it's not a film that fits into the top ten watch and say wow films and just because it hasn't won as many awards as lord of the rings (which i love and probably is'nt as good as this) doesn't mean that it has to affect how good this movie really is. Watching this movie is like watching the sun rise or watching the love of your life sleeping next to you, when you see something like that it just hits you with wonder. It has beautiful people with very interactive character personalities, very good acting (even by the yaks ha ha) it makes you wonder if they are just being themselves, nearly ever line in this movie has meaning, lines like "stop praying and lets go" makes this movie so much more human. A lot of the characters especially Karma have a lot more of a "western" way about them than what you would expect and that is probably another thing about this movie that gives it even more attraction to the western type audience. The camera work and locations are just the right balance to make you forget your watching a movie and think your on holidays in the mountains, the music and sounds are also just the right touch. If this was a big budget jerry bruckheimer or oliver stone movie this would have gotten the attention it deserves (but probably wouldn't be as good ha). I probably enjoyed this movie even more by not expecting much from it i didn't even want to see it (i wanted to see star wars) Any movie that makes you feel that you would love to be one of them and give up your x-box and trek through the snow has to be good. This is definitely one of those movies you have to put in your WATCH BEFORE YOU DIE pile.

This film is about conflict & mistrust between generations. Walking is the minor element. The mutual mistrust between the 2 generations were very well portrayed. Although there was an obligatory change from mistrust to mutual respect, the story is still very convincing and gripping. The film almost seemed like a documentary of the villagers' life, which is what makes the film even more interesting.

The location of filming were really stunning. The scenery of the barren mountains and snowy mountains were totally breathtaking. This film may be boring for some people, but for people interested in the Tibetan culture, this is a film for you.

One reviewer asks if we (Westerners) can ever see the world through another's (non-Westerner) eyes. Good question. There's no 'yes' or 'no' answer because we can't get into people's heads. The cultural viewpoint from the standpoint of the actor in the cultural setting is always different from the outsider. As intruders into that world, we can observe, wonder and learn. Yes, indeed like voyeurs, my friend but these are not "primitive" people. These are people who have adapted to a way of life and developed means of coping with it. Since many of these people live isolated lives, the cultural diffusion of technology invades their worlds slowly. (We anthropologists see this fact as a mercy) This film is a wonder. As one reviewer asks, can we watch a film for over a 100 minutes of people walking? It depends. What do you want? Adventure? Rent a Hollywood spawn with phony chases, lots of CGI and god-awful writing. This is a simple story but one basic to the human condition. Loss, death, coming of age, transition, love and resurrection. This film is full of archetypes but without the contrived devices found in so many Western films. The adventure is that of the daily lives of these people who live always on the edge. It is most unfair to judge this simple tale and its depiction from the same viewpoint of another mythic journey. There's only the violence of nature and the triumph of human will to survive-- not happily ever after, but just for another day. As an anthropologist who spent over 25 years working with pastoralists (nomadic herders) in Africa, Central Asia, South America and the Middle East, I was delighted with this unpretentious story. I never worked with yak or reindeer [I highly recommend the exceptional "Pathfinder" for an excellent view of the Lapps]herders and the presentation certainly squared with everything I've read about these dynamic, wonderful people.