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Siskoid's avatar

Siskoid

You don't need to be Japanese to want to adapt a manga to the big screen, as The Summit of the Gods shows. This French "anime" chronicles one man's obsession with mountain climbing and, ultimately, getting to the top of Everest solo, and a journalist's equal obsession with the mystery surrounding this man. The film asks whether following your white whale (for Ahab would have just found another one to hunt if he'd killed Moby Dick) is a purer form of living, but for us non-climbers, it's a harrowing journey that could make you swear off even the most casual hike. Let's just say I'm not about to take up a new hobby. The film looks gorgeous and could have come out of any of the great Japanese studios, stark vistas of white and gray dwarfing lonesome characters, the world's bleakness matching the climber's hardcore approach. My one criticism is that it's initially hard to read that you've slipped into a flashback and the first act has a lot of "who is this again?", as young men in parkas all look alike, but that is quickly dispelled once you get your bearings.
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