I don't rate movie's at a ten lightly so when thinking about what to rate this Cinematic experience (it's not just movie or film) but i will refer to it as that from here on, i was going to give it an 8 or 9 but the more i thought about it the more i realized that the only reason for this would be that it's not a film that fits into the top ten watch and say wow films and just because it hasn't won as many awards as lord of the rings (which i love and probably is'nt as good as this) doesn't mean that it has to affect how good this movie really is. Watching this movie is like watching the sun rise or watching the love of your life sleeping next to you, when you see something like that it just hits you with wonder. It has beautiful people with very interactive character personalities, very good acting (even by the yaks ha ha) it makes you wonder if they are just being themselves, nearly ever line in this movie has meaning, lines like "stop praying and lets go" makes this movie so much more human. A lot of the characters especially Karma have a lot more of a "western" way about them than what you would expect and that is probably another thing about this movie that gives it even more attraction to the western type audience. The camera work and locations are just the right balance to make you forget your watching a movie and think your on holidays in the mountains, the music and sounds are also just the right touch. If this was a big budget jerry bruckheimer or oliver stone movie this would have gotten the attention it deserves (but probably wouldn't be as good ha). I probably enjoyed this movie even more by not expecting much from it i didn't even want to see it (i wanted to see star wars) Any movie that makes you feel that you would love to be one of them and give up your x-box and trek through the snow has to be good. This is definitely one of those movies you have to put in your WATCH BEFORE YOU DIE pile.

In order to get the DVD of Himalaya I have to order it from the USA - it's not available in the UK (presumably something to do with our imperialist past). I saw the film three or four years ago and some of the images still live with me. Immediately after seeing it I was enthusiastically recommending it to friends all of whom asked about the plot. It felt somehow inadequate to reply that it's a story about a dispute between two Tibetan yak-herders. All I know is that it's one of the few films I actively want to see again. Not necessarily because of the plot, which is serviceable, or even the acting, which is fresh and vibrant, but it's a wonderful feast for the eye with some of the most compelling images I have ever seen.

If you believe film should be an artform, then you'll love Himalaya. As the director states in the bonus audio track, the production team did not identify and write to a "target market" when developing the screen writing, they did not follow the dreary Hollywood "recipe" for film-making, and, most importantly, they did use non-actors to portray almost all the lead and back-up roles. Tinle, the lead character, is a treasure. The first time I viewed the movie, I thought, 'what a wonderful actor.' His timing is exact yet unpredictable, his personality forceful, his face is exquisite, his form unique and authentic. A natural, I thought. Indeed, he plays himself in a quasi-autobiography, and what a wonderful character he is.This is a movie about an ancient civilization we are losing and, sadly, will soon be lost. Really, its a documentary, and, as the director states, will certainly be used by future historians as a visual artifact of what is soon to become the lost Dolpo civilization of Nepal. The soundtrack conditions you to this heartbreaking reality.The movie is successful on many levels: a mother's lost love (who hasn't seen her adult child since he was eight); a loving grandfather/grandson relationship, which is painfully lost; a wife who loses her husband, and a young boy who loses his father then attempts to make sense out of the loss; a young religious man who chooses the 'difficult' path over the easy monastic life; a classic confrontation between generations; and an old man whose entire life is built on strength, perseverance, and admiration, but then who ultimately must let go of it all to those who are destined to succeed him.I loved this movie. It made me think of my mother, an artist, whom I miss dearly. Himalaya is a work of art.

"Himalaya" is about as exotic as films get. Using indigenous people in a remote and harsh corner of Nepal (Dolpa), an adventurous French director (Valli) created a film about a superstitious and aging tribal chief who leads a caravan of Yaks through hazardous Himalayan reaches to trade salt for the grain required to sustain his people. The film is interesting inasmuch as it uses native nonactors in an extremely remote region of great beauty which is seldom seen up close and personal. The result, however, is not great drama and the scenics, though beautiful, are less breathtaking than I had expected. In fact, I found the "The Making Of..." featurette on board the DVD more interesting than the film itself. Considering the low entertainment yield of this ambitious project, it would probably have worked better as a documentary or travelogue. Nonetheless, this exotic-for-the-sake-of-exotica film should be much appreciated by those into films about foreign cultures or with a special interest in the Nepali. (B)