eight mountains…

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the Watershed to see “Eight Mountains” (by Belgian film-makers Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, adapted from the 2016 novel by Italian author Paolo Cognetti).
It’s difficult to sum up what the film’s about…
Essentially, it’s a film about the friendship of two men, Pietro and Bruno (going back to their childhoods) and the challenges and experiences they face (both good and bad) on their respective journeys through life. The film is set in the stunningly beautiful Italian Alpine valley of Aosta and begins with the two 12-year-old boys getting to know each other when Pietro’s mum and dad – to get away from the cut+thrust of city life in Turin – come to an isolated village where Pietro befriends local boy Bruno, who is staying with his farmer uncle and aunt… they spend a lot of time together in the mountains and valleys exploring the magical location. Pietro’s parents try to encourage Bruno to join them in Turin; Bruno’s absent father objects… Pietro never forgives his father for splitting them up (and never speaks to his dad again).
But, fate reunites the grown-up Bruno and Pietro (played by Alessandro Borghi and Luca Marinelli) and, after a hesitant reconnection, they spend an Alpine summer re-building a shack in the valley that will become their special place. Pietro is hurt when he discovers that his ‘wounded’ father actually became a friend to the grown-up Bruno, hiking with him in the valley and becoming a quasi-father to him. Pietro feels to need to move on and ends up travelling to Nepal (and becomes a celebrated writer), but is consumed with the thought that his friendship with Bruno was the ‘best of him’ (and that Bruno was the ‘better man’ in being satisfied to make his home in the mountains). I think I’ll leave it there… (you need to see it for yourself!).
The film is stunningly photographed… and it’s sad, encouraging and compassionate and deals with issues of love, compassion, friendship and dreams.
It’s a long film (2hrs27mins), but WELL, well worth it.
Note: the ‘eight mountains’ of the title refers to the eight highest peaks of Nepal: a ‘mysterious symbol of worldly ambition and conquest’.
PS: It was a beautiful sunny afternoon yesterday and I can therefore fully appreciate that most people wanted to be outside, if they could… but it felt a little strange to be part of an audience of FIVE who watched the film!