"Tinle! It's been so many years now... we won't make it."
"The gods are with us! The mountains will recognize us. They're our allies. If we stay, we'll die of shame!"

" [...] 'When two paths open up before you, always choose the hardest one.' [...] "

"That's enough praying! Let's go!"

"Karma, you must listen to the gods."
"The gods have nothing to do here."

The Chief of a Dolpo tribe, high up in the himalayas, suspecting foul
play in the death of his son, the caravan leader, during the most
recent expedition, and distrusting his son's friend and deputy---the
only one in the tribe now believed to be able to lead a caravan
through the indomitable mountains---as the new leader, against all
counsel, takes it upon himself to lead the next expedition---composed
of his reluctant old friends, his dead son's widow and her son, and
his other son who is a monk and can't even fasten a rope properly,
along with a train of yaks---to trade himalayan salt with grain for
the approaching winter; the aforementioned lieutenant having left on
his own before the auspicious day reckoned by the Lamas---with all the
young men of the tribe choosing to follow his lead---partly due to the
chief's antipathy towards him.

I enjoyed this French-made film about people on an inhospitable
journey even more than the widely known and much more critically
acclaimed 'The Wages of Fear' (1953).

A beautiful and throughly enjoyable film.

[26 October 2024]