My Thoughts on Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells:
1) The movie is pretty. No brainer obviously as it would take a director of epic untalent to somehow make the Himalayas and Nepal not breaktaking and awe-inspiring (Uwe Boll perhaps?). The movie is basically a 95 minute slideshow of Nepal and Nepal village life. Not for everybody, obviously, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Lots of solid camera work and long single shot scenes that accurately showed just how slow paced and quiet life is there.
2) The movie is slow. Really, really slow. The story consists of the main character travelling to the Nepali village in the first 10 minutes, then sitting around the village for the rest of the flick. He goes to the village to tell the family about the death of their father and husband and eventually the family finds out. That’s it for story. Character development….not so much either. The main character arrives as a fatigued and depressed middle aged man, and leaves in the exact same state. What about the Nepalese folks he interacts with? Well, for one, there is almost no dialogue/social interaction, thus adding to the absence of stuff happening. But, hey, most of the dialogue is in English (what you thought a remote Nepal village would know Korean as its second language?…..ahahahah….international language….ahahah…sorry). A critic I read likened the movie to a documentary and that’s probably the best assessment. You, as well as the main character, are simply Watchers observing the life of these hearty folk.
For me, the pace didn’t bother me (course I’ve also sat through “Into Great Silence”, a nearly 3 hour pic that follows the lives of many monks under a vow of silence living in a remote monastery, which made “Himalaya” feel like a Michael Bay flick in comparison) and the flick was very powerful and moving at its minimalist core. That being said, the movie is not for everyone and potential viewers should know what they are getting into. If you are looking for some action, I hear there is a new Michael Bay flick out. And lots of stuff blows up, so that’s good.
-Wallin (I’m feeling really Ebert-ish today, so bear with me)
