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Mt. Everest

The Summit of the Gods – An existential “why?”

December 2, 2021 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Why do people (now a few thousand) climb Mt. Everest? George Mallory (who may or may not have been the first to reach the summit) famously answered the question by saying, “Because it’s there.” But there has to be more to it than that. Mountaineering is a dangerous, often lethal, activity. In The Summit of the Gods, directed by Patrick Imbert, the question of why someone may focus on a near impossible task is central.

This beautifully animated film is based on a manga series by Jirô Taniguchi, which was in turn based on a novel by Baku Yamemakura. When the manga series reached Europe many years after their original publication, they came to the attention of a French producer who started the process of making this film. (Which explains why the film features Japanese characters speaking French.) The animation creates a world of majestic and awe-inspiring mountains, as well as tense, exciting climbing sequences.

The story starts with Fukamachi Makoto, a photojournalist who has gone to Everest to get shots of Japanese climbers, when their attempt fails, he wonders what the point is off all this. But in a Kathmandu bar, he sees a camera that is reputed to have belonged to George Mallory. He later sees Habu Jôji, a climber who no one has heard from for years, with the camera. The idea that it is Mallory’s camera and could answer the question if he and his climbing partners had reached the summit becomes an obsession for Fukamachi, who begins to seek out Habu.

As the story progresses, it shifts from time to time to give us more information on Habu and the accidents that have shaped his view of climbing. He is very aware of the dangers of any mountain, but especially Everest. Fukamachi finds him as he’s preparing a solo ascent of the Southwest face, a particularly difficult climb. Fukamachi sets up at the basecamp and awaits Habu, planning on documenting his ascent.

Both Habu and Fukamachi are obsessed: Habu with doing something no one has done, and Fukamachi with finding Mallory’s camera. We might think of Fukamachi as something of Ishmael to Habu’s Ahab. The question of why they are doing this is always in the background. But it also becomes explicit. There is a point where each man asks the other, why they are there. Another question is why the summit matters more than life itself.

Each man has his own reasons, but it brings them both to the same place. They have each chosen a focus that they hope will heal an existential angst within them. So they come to believe that whether they survive or not is of less importance that what they are doing. They are committing their lives (and possibly their deaths) to their obsessions. The amazing vistas the animation creates serve to add even more depth to these philosophical ponderings.

The Summit of the Gods can be seen in select theaters and on Netflix.

Photos courtesy of Netflix.

Filed Under: Film, Netflix, Reviews Tagged With: France, Japan, mountain climbing, Mt. Everest, obsession

Bombardier Blood – An Upward Climb

August 18, 2020 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Patrick James Lynch’s documentary Bombardier Blood is the latest documentary to wow us with the barriers that can be overcome in life. The film focuses on Chris Bombardier as he strives to be the first person with hemophilia to climb the Seven Summits—the highest mountain peaks on each continent.

Hemophilia is a genetic disorder that affects one in 10,000 births. Those who have it do not produce one of the factors that allows blood to clot, so even a minor injury can be vary serious. It often results in severe deformities in joints. Children with hemophilia are often not allowed to take part in sports or even jump on the bed. But with treatment, Bombardier was able to have a much fuller life—playing baseball up to the college level and skiing. When he couldn’t play baseball any more, he went through a period of depression, but by going to a camp for children with hemophilia, he came to understand that he was not alone. There is a sense of community among those with the disease. He calls them his “blood brothers”.

Chris Meeting with Nepal Hemophilia Community

After college he began working at a hemophilia center. On a trip to work at a hemophilia center in Kenya he was taken aback by the suffering and deformities he saw in those who couldn’t afford treatment. (Treatment costs about $35,000 a month, so without insurance, few can afford it.) He also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, the first of his Seven Summits. It was from that part that he made that task a source of fundraising to help others with the disease.

Most of the film looks at his attempt to climb Mr. Everest, which would be his sixth summit. Before heading to base camp, he visits a local hemophilia center in Nepal to meet some of his blood brothers and have them sign a flag (for the Save One Life group that seeks to sponsor treatments) that he will take with him to the top.

Chris Infusing with Guide Ryan Waters at Base Camp

The film includes interviews with his mother, his wife, and his uncle. There are certainly concerns about what he is doing, but there is also a great deal of love and support. Like other films of this genre, it is not so much about the task itself (although we certainly see how difficult the ascent of Everest is). This film wants to see the power of the human spirit to not only go beyond what people say can be done, but to do so in such a way that others are blessed by the endeavor. (Bombardier raised over $100,000 to support treatment for over 75 patients.) It serves as a reminder that why someone does something is often far more important that what it is they have done.

Bombardier Blood is available on VOD.

Photos courtesy of Believe Limited.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: documentary, Hemophilia, mountain climbing, Mt. Everest

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