‘The Summit of the Gods’ (2021) Review: A Breathtaking Mountaineering Film Ponders the Greatest Mystery
“Walking. Climbing. More climbing. Always higher. And for what?”
In the 20th century, the greatest adventure known to man was conquering Mount Everest This feat was accomplished in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, who were the first people to reach the summit. Although almost 30 years before Hillary and Norgay completed their expedition, mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine also attempted to climb the summit — except they never returned. There was much speculation as to whether Mallory and Irvine ever reached the top of the summit and upon discovering the body of Mallory in 1999, people were finally relieved that they would be able to find an answer. Their journey, however, remained a mystery to many. It was believed that Mallory carried a primitive Kodak camera, which should have preserved the film due to the freezing conditions, and this would have been the key to solving the puzzle behind their expedition.
This little Vestpocket Kodak camera is one of the enigmas that tells the intertwined stories of Fukamachi Makoto (voiced by Damien Boisseau) and Habu Jôji (voiced by Eric Herson-Macarel) in Patrick Imbert’s The Summit of the Gods. Adapted from a manga by Baku Yumemakura and Jirô Taniguchi, it is set 70 years after Mallory and Irvine’s journey; Makoto and Jôji cross paths in Kathmandu, when they discover the Kodak camera belonging to the mountain climbers. In an attempt to find the camera and Jôji’s, who disappeared after a tragic rock climbing accident that left a young boy dead, Makoto traces back the climber’s achievements and finds a letter written by him. He finds Jôji but the latter wants to be left alone as he is preparing to climb Everest on his own. Makoto is determined to retrieve the camera and find the answers to Mallory’s expedition and so, he begins the journey to climb the highest mountain.
The Summit of the Gods is beautifully animated, with realistic and vibrant hazy colours of purples and blues illuminating the mountainscapes that capture both beauty and danger. Aside from Makoto and Jôji, Everest is the third character that looms in the minds of the mountain climbers. Imbert and producer Jean-Charles Ostorero deftly adapted the breathtaking animation with mystery and vibrant imagery, continuing the obsession behind the most dangerous mountains in history. The animated movie is a visual spectacle that dives into the emotional and physical mindsets and limitations of the characters. The visuals infiltrate the viewers just as how climbers suffer from headaches, frostbites, cloudiness of thoughts and signs of altitude sickness. The shots are grand in scale with scenes of the characters climbing the mountain, layered with gusts of winds, footprints, and the details of the stones are realistically powerful.
The first half of the movie integrates Makoto’s journey to locate Jôji by weaving and threading them together, often cutting back and forth from past to present detailing the reason behind Jôji’s disappearance. As Makoto compiles Jôji’s life, the question remains: what is so alluring about a mountain and why do people want to reach the peak? It’s an existential question for Makoto and Jôji, which aims to be for personal and professional reasons. Although, Jôji’s story somewhat parallels Mallory’s life, both who want to climb Everest because the mountain is just there.
The second half of The Summit of the Gods is filled with silence and dreadful moments that leave the audience wondering whether or not Makoto and Jôji would return after surpassing the limitations of the dangerous climb. They walk, jump and clamber over difficult terrain to test their limits as much as they can, in the most dangerous of conditions and there is no denying that Imbert’s animated feature is a surreal experience exploring the philosophical questions of how much the human body can endure. They want to get to the bottom of the mystery no matter what the outcome will become and unsurprisingly, the answers lie within the mountains.
The Summit of the Gods is undoubtedly one of the best animated movies of the year. The visuals of the mountains are intense and the psychological manifestations of the climb ponder the beauty and danger of Everest. Its immersive naturalism reaches so many heights far beyond anyone can imagine and is one that Mallory and Irvine would have hoped for had they ever reached the peak. Though that mystery may never be solved, their achievements are not lost to anyone. Perhaps the greatest mystery of Everest is left to wonder for everyone’s objective view. There’s tension and terror behind Makoto and Jôji’s state of mind, but regardless of the harsh weather conditions and murky circumstances they reached the summit, the emotional entanglement of the summit is what truly matters.
The Summit of the Gods will stream on Netflix on November 30.
Edited by: Raayaa Imthiyaz
