Sitges 2022: Thomas Salvador’s Mesmerizing, Poetic ‘The Mountain’
by Alex Billington
October 10, 2022
The mountains will name you. For those who allow them to, perhaps they are going to change you. There are two extraordinary movies this yr about mountains and the way a lot they’ll change and form and draw us in. As a mountain lover myself, I am naturally drawn to those sort of movies however not often are two of them in a single yr this good. Each of those movies premiered on the 2022 Cannes Movie Pageant – the primary is The Eight Mountains, an Italian movie telling the story of two boys and the way mountains form their lives. It was certainly one of my favourite movies in Cannes, and I reviewed it then. The second movie is The Mountain, a French movie starring and made by filmmaker Thomas Salvador. I caught this one on the 2022 Sitges Movie Pageant in Spain, which is normally the place they play horror and sci-fi movies. Nonetheless, it isn’t a lot a horror or sci-fi, extra of a quiet, poetic drama with a contact of magic in it that makes all of the distinction. I’m very glad I may watch it on the massive display anyway.
Directed by French filmmaker Thomas Salvador, and written by Naïla Guiguet and Thomas Salvador, the movie introduces us to a robotic engineer named Pierre. Salvador additionally stars on this position as Pierre. He travels together with his work to the Chamonix valley within the French Alps to provide a presentation, however then is mysteriously pulled into the mountains. He buys all of the gear, buys a couple of books, and is off studying about tips on how to dwell within the mountains straight away. Earlier than it he cannot depart. It is an apparent however nonetheless healthful take a look at the considerably cliche out of doors mindset – they must be in nature and nothing can carry them again. Pierre is clearly having a disaster in his life and is modified by the majesty and grandeur of the Alps. He initially takes the gondola as much as the highest of the Aiguille du Midi peak close to Mont Blanc, and heads out into the snow to dwell in a tent different mountaineers and trekkers, spending all of his time alone amongst the rocks and snow. His solely exterior connection is a pleasant chef who works on the restaurant contained in the mountain prime facility.
The primary half of The Mountain (or La Montagne in French) all about him making this life-changing leap into the mountains and studying to dwell within the snow and chilly. He learns quick, however it’s not simple to determine tips on how to survive up there particularly for those who’ve by no means finished it earlier than… Ultimately I used to be questioning the place is that this going and what is going on to be the massive twist or reveal, what is going on to occur subsequent with him. Sure it is candy that he meets this girl, Léa performed by Louise Bourgoin, they usually slowly construct a relationship. However that is only a small a part of the movie, as the remainder of it’s about his relationship with the mountains. One evening whereas mountaineering round he notices some sort of gentle bouncing round within the rocks. He can not help examine and discovers one thing inside. That discovery and what occurs subsequent is so thrilling and alluring and magical, it is best to expertise it recent, to see all of it occur proper in entrance of your eyes on the display. It could appear unusual at first, however by the tip it has this stunning that means that, above all, fellow mountain lovers will respect essentially the most.
Salvador’s creation is a beautiful, pensive, humble movie that I used to be actually moved by. That magical connection to the mountains is one thing I really feel deeply already. I’m particularly impressed by how correct and pure the filmmaking is – the whole lot feels so actual and I could not even inform how they shot it or made all of it occur. An necessary ingredient for an ideal movie about mountains is definitely taking pictures it within the mountains, utilizing actual areas and making the trouble to be in nature simply because the characters are. That’s undoubtedly the case right here, a lot in order that I ponder if the filmmaking staff consisted of actual mountain climbers. I will likely be fascinated about what occurs within the second half of this movie for a very long time. The warmness of his experiences within the chilly mountains is what adjustments him eternally, and that comes throughout fairly sturdy by the tip. Maybe a couple of different viewers will likely be modified by this story, teasing what would possibly simply occur for those who additionally give your self over to nature.
Alex’s Sitges 2022 Ranking: 8.5 out of 10
Observe Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
