Coming to theatres today, Friday, May 11:
MOUNTAIN
Director:
Jennifer Peedom
Premiere:
Sydney 2017
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, London, Melbourne, New Zealand, Helsinki, Tallinn Black Nights, Hamptons
About:
A meditation on the allure of mountains.
Set to a classical score performed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and featuring an almost non-stop barrage of breathtaking images of mountains and the various adventure sports performed on them, Peedom’s film is a celebration of mountains and their mystique. At its best, the film mesmerizes the viewer with vertiginous shots, montages of extreme climbing, skiing, parachuting, BASE jumping, and whatnot, with the musical accompaniment underscoring the grandeur. Unfortunately, these moments are almost immediately undercut by the tiresome faux philosophical narration, never as profound as it apparently is meant to be taken. While drawn from a like-minded reflection on the influence of mountains on us, Robert Macfarlane’s memoir, MOUNTAINS OF THE MIND, this element of the film serves as a distraction, one that tries to hard to seem profound when set against the actual profundity of nature itself.
