Recent history has been much kinder to Tenzing Norgay, than in the immediate aftermath of his shared summit of Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary, on May 29, 1953.
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| With Everest's summit in sight, Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok, far left) and his comrades — from left, Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston), John Hunt (Willem Dafoe) and George Lowe (Benjamin Hoetjes) ponder their next move. |
Director Jennifer Peedom’s engaging new film aims to correct that. She succeeds quite well, thanks in considerable part to Luke Davies’ respectful screenplay, based on a story co-written with Peedom, and inspired by Ed Douglas’ 2003 biography, Tenzing: Hero of Everest.
The film opens as 9-year-old Tenzing (Samdrup Dorje Lama) pauses, while herding his Tibetan family’s yaks, to gaze with wonder at the nearby mountain: Chomolungma (“Holy Mother,” or the Goddess of the Summit). Dire circumstances soon force his family to relocate to Nepal, where — as a “foreigner” — he grows up shunned by the locals with whom he toils.
The one bright spot is a brief encounter with British mountaineer George Mallory (Johnny Flynn), who treats the boy with unexpected gentleness and — as a result — inspires him to become a Sherpa.
(Although a warm and charming scene, it’s a fabrication of Davies’ script. There’s no documentation that Norgay and Mallory ever met, and their respective timelines don’t match.)
Peedom subsequently cross-cuts between the 1920s, as young Tenzing meets Dawa (Choeden Sherpa), the girl who will grow up to become his wife; and three decades later, starting with a pivotal encounter that ultimately encourages Norgay to join Hunt’s expedition.
This portion of the film acknowledges another of the saga’s little-known key players: Jill Henderson (Caitríona Balfe, exuding perception and intelligence), then Honorary Secretary of the Himalayan Club, and living with her husband on a tea plantation in Darjeeling. By this point, in late 1952, Norgay (Genden Phuntsok) has become a valuable asset to climbing expeditions; she encourages him to join the British team preparing for a climb in early 1953.
He demurs, both because he promised his young daughters — Pem Pem (Kyipu Bhuti) and Nima (Pasang Bhuti) — that his two recent attempts to summit Everest with a Swiss team would be his last; and also because he knows that the British, unlike the Swiss, would refuse to make him a “full expedition member,” as opposed to merely “head Sherpa.”
But Henderson can be quite persuasive, Pem Pem understands her father’s heart, and Norgay’s reputation speaks for itself. Hunt (Willem Dafoe) grants the desired “expedition member” designation. Hillary (Tom Hiddleston), one of the team, visibly approves the choice.
Although we know the outcome, Peedom achieves a remarkable level of suspense. The expedition’s scale is jaw-dropping: The primary climbing team is accompanied by 20 Sherpa guides, more than 300 porters, and 10,000 pounds of supplies. That’s plenty of people and opportunities for unexpected crises.
Peedom, cinematographer Stefan Duscio and veteran New Zealand mountain safety supervisor Guy Cotter went for as much verisimilitude as possible. Location filming took place in the blustery, snow-covered landscape of New Zealand’s Mount Cook, where the temperatures sometimes dropped to negative 13 degrees. The Nepali government also granted permission to film early scenes at their country’s Everest Base Camp.
The laborious effort involved, as the expedition moves from Base Camp (April 12) to Camp One (April 22) and then beyond, looks excruciatingly difficult. There’s a point at which sheer environmental hostility overwhelms “acting artifice,” and Peedom achieves that dramatic distinction. We share the team’s exhaustion and indomitable spirit.
Peedom periodically cross-cuts these events by dropping back in time, as the young adult Tenzing and Dawa (Thinley Lhamo) work grindingly hard, at menial labor, to establish a home and family, while granting him a chance to fulfill his dream ambition. These are sweet, quieter moments, particularly when Tenzing promises her “all my hope, all my future, and all my heart.”
Dafoe is note-perfect as the resourceful, knowledgeable and respected Hunt (who had made three previous attempts to summit Everest). Assuming the team makes it to the penultimately camp at South Col, Hunt will decide which two members attempt the final climb to the top.
Hiddleston’s performance is calmer and more introspective. Hillary carefully watches everybody, Hiddleston’s gaze silently sizing up each comrade’s potential. The expedition’s early stages also help the team members pair off as “climbing partners,” and Hillary takes his time with this decision.
Other key team members include Tom Bourdillon (Thomas M. Wright), Charles Evans (Harry Greenwood), George Lowe (Benjamin Hoetjes), Tom Dawson (Michael Ward), Alfred Gregory (Byron Coll) and Tom Stobart (Benjamin Rigby). All are capably played.
But Phuntsok — a Chinese actor of Tibetan descent — carries the film, with a blend of pride, determination and enthusiasm. His instinctively warm gaze radiate intelligence and — when appropriate — respect. Norgay knows his value, but also understands how to finesse both his British comrades, and the Khumbu Sherpas who initially regard him as an “undocumented outsider.”
The film’s wholly immersive adventure elements aside, its strongest asset is the cultural and spiritual sensitivity with which this saga is depicted. That, and the respect paid throughout to Norgay, will ensure he’ll not be forgotten by modern generations.
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