The Eight Mountains

CinemaSerf

May 18, 2023

7/10

"Pietro" (a scene stealing Lupo Barbiero) is a young boy taken by his mother from their home in Turin to a small mountain village where amongst the dozen or so residents he befriends "Bruno" (Cristiano Sassella). The latter boy lives with his cheese-making uncle, content to follow in his footsteps. After a few trips, the visiting family decide to offer "Bruno" an opportunity for education in the city, but when that comes a cropper the two boys become a bit estranged not just from each other, but…

This is an amazing and captivating study of the personal growth two men and their relationship over a forty-year period. It's never boring, in spite of the film length. The pacing is just perfect for the unfolding of kind of deep love that humans may have for each other. "In certain lives, there are mountains to which we may never return. That in lives like his and mine, you cannot go back to the mountain that is in the center of all the rest, and at the beginning of your own story. And that …

Considering the importance of friendship in our lives, it’s somewhat surprising that there aren’t more movies devoted to this subject. But perhaps that’s because it’s difficult to make truly engaging films that effectively address this topic. Such is the case with this would-be grand sweeping epic set against the mountain landscapes of Italy and Nepal. In this tale of life-long friendship and self-discovery, directors Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch attempt to examine these issu…