14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)
Genre: Documentary / Adventure
Duration: 101 minuten
Country:
United States / United Kingdom
Directed by: Torquil Jones
Starst: Nirmal Purja, Jimmy Chin and Reinhold Messner
IMDb score:
7,7 (34.334)
Releasedate: 12 November 2021
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible plot
In this documentary, Nepal's deep connection to high-altitude mountaineering is explored through the eyes of Nirmal 'Nimsdai' Purja. He is a fearless, cheerful Nepalese climber on a quest he calls Project Possible. In seven months he wants to climb 14 mountains with an altitude of 8,000 meters and thereby break the record of seven years. With a team of skilled Sherpas, Nimsdai traverses Mount Everest, K2 and other iconic peaks through extreme weather conditions.
Reviews & comments
Woland
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- 4840 messages
- 3884 votes
I find the subject particularly fascinating, and it is inevitable that beautiful images will appear, but despite that, I found this to be a rather tedious documentary. Really annoyingly slick and boastful, and the makers clearly haven't grasped the concept of "show, don't tell" yet. There is mostly a lot of talk about how amazing they are, what extraordinary risks they take, and what hardships they have heroically endured, while this never comes across visually. It gets a few points for the sometimes stunning Himalayan footage, but it was a huge disappointment.
Translated from Dutch · View original
shugenja
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- 724 messages
- 1700 votes
Meh. I saw it coming, because you can never make a good film in terms of substance if you have to cram 14 climbs into 1 hour and 40 minutes. Unfortunately, that is why we see little to nothing of the mountain climbing and the dangers involved.
What remains is a lot of nationalism, chest-thumping, and Nepal this and that. You feel a bit sorry for the boys because apparently they really have very little self-confidence. Even though surely this couldn't have been the intention?
So, a lot of sentimental drivel and little excitement. But the real emotion during the climb itself, the sheer terror, the doubt? Yes, it is mentioned that Nims sometimes had emotions, but "you should never let that show," and that is as far as it goes.
This is a shame, because the achievement in itself is phenomenal and actually deserves a better documentary than this one. Am I really supposed to believe that it is nothing but brotherhood between the Sherpas? Well, then I would have liked to see more of that.
A salient detail, however, is that Nims was naturalized as a British citizen some time ago. Apparently, he is not proud enough of Nepal to live and work there after all. Which, in my view, causes this film to lose some of its power. Is it not an ego document primarily for Nims himself?
Translated from Dutch · View original
JJ_D
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- 3837 messages
- 1364 votes
Let there be no doubt about it right away: the achievement is undeniably awe-inspiring. The question, however, is: what was the driving force behind the multiple record? Praiseworthy qualities, such as intellect, a thoughtfully applied intuition, a unique combination of insight, energy, and technical refinement? '14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible' attempts to make the viewer believe otherwise. It is a drawn-out hymn to Nirmal Purja's primal physical power and a hymn to perseverance in the most dangerous circumstances. So…should we applaud this extreme, indeed even irresponsible, daredevilry?
The question is, after all, whether the disregard for death and the almost adolescent frivolity that Purja's team displays with alcohol and much incomprehensible giggling can be “inspiring” to others—for “inspiration” was supposedly Purja’s motive for embarking on his Project Possible? No; although Purja has sent an important signal to the world for Nepalese climbers, '14 Peaks' primarily tells a corny story about a man who, in accordance with the now familiar neoliberal tune of self-realization against common sense and better judgment, is very eager to see himself pushing boundaries, preferably before the eyes of his social media followers.
What the film lacks is information about the trajectory followed to climb such mountains, why certain choices are made; in short, the viewer gains no insight into the climber's craft. Moreover, the cinematography does not measure up to that of, say, 'Mountain' or 'Everest'. In short, many a missed opportunity…
2.25*
Translated from Dutch · View original
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