ScreenWize

For much of this film, there is a naive charm that makes you want to forgive the glacial pace of the storytelling and the terribly theatrical performances (and the scratchy print that I watched, which undermined the stunning beauty of the Nepalese landscape on the big screen). What’s harder to excuse however, is the film’s increasingly didactic nature. As we travel higher and deeper into the mountains on a journey of hope with four gorgeous children, we slowly realise we have been led into a trap – this is no adventure, but a lesson in morality! And it’s a lesson that leaves a distinctly unpleasant taste, despite the sugarcoating.

Ten-year old Siddarth (Bijwol Giri) lives in the Himalayan foothills and is unperturbed by life until his mother is killed and father seriously injured in a fire that starts during the observance of a religious ritual. Forced to live with his Uncle, Aunt and cousin Druki (Sapana KC), Siddarth is told that it is God who has taken his mother, and - mourning her loss dreadfully - he sets out to find this God and get some answers. After looking in the hectic city of Kathmandu – with its strangely painted sahdus and colourful Hindu rituals, Siddarth opts for a quiet night locked in the local temple, but gets no closer to finding the God who holds the knowledge he craves. On his way home, however, he meets a wise man who suggests a search in the highest place in the mountains. Joined by Druki and his best friend Raju (Bob
Karanjeet), Siddarth sets off on foot for the place where no one has been before. On the way, the three youngsters are joined by an older boy named Ali (Shagun KC), who also has some difficult questions for God.

Without giving away the plot, what happens from this point on is – for contemporary Western viewers - on the distinctly sloppy side of narrative storytelling at best, patronizing and shabby at worst. What definitely helps is to understand the story’s contextual origins – as Hindu parable, designed to show the path to higher truth. You’ll get the idea when you come to know that director Sanjay Srinivas’ ambition with the final scenes is no less than to change your life as you “come to bathe in the joys of God’s revelation to this simple boy.”

It’s lovely to see a story shot with a backdrop of Nepal, but a much lighter touch – especially with the musical accompaniment that over-punctuates the already melodramatic performance style – would have made this naive epic a lot more palatable.

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Filed Under: Reviews by Simon