Mountain (2017 film)

Mountain
Film poster
Directed byJennifer Peedom
Written byRobert Macfarlane
Jennifer Peedom
Produced byJo-Anne McGowan
Jennifer Peedom
Narrated byWillem Dafoe
CinematographyRenan Ozturk
Edited byChristian Gazal
Scott Gray
Music byRichard Tognetti
Production
company
Distributed byAmstelfilm (Netherlands) (theatrical)
Madman Entertainment (Australia) (theatrical)
Neo Films (Greece) (theatrical)
DCM Film Distribution (Germany) (all media)
Release dates
  • 12 June 2017 (2017-06-12) (Australia)
  • Mountain Live ACO event (Mountain Live ACO event)
Running time
74 min.
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Mountain is a 2017 Australian documentary film, co-written, co-produced and directed by Jennifer Peedom. It premiered at the Sydney Opera House in June 2017. Mountain follows Peedom's 2015 documentary film Sherpa.[1]

Synopsis

The film explores high peaks around the world while telling the relationship between humans and mountains across time.

Cast

Adventure sports people:[2]

Production

After her critically acclaimed film, Sherpa,[3] producer Peedom resumes her work with American mountaineer and photographer Renan Ozturk. He is responsible for most of the images in the film. American actor Willem Dafoe narrates the film and reads passages from Robert Macfarlane's book "Mountains of the Mind".[1] The production company was Stranger Than Fiction.[4]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Mountain offers a visually thrilling – and surprisingly affecting – look at man's relationship with some of Earth's most imposing natural wonders."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[6]

Janine Israel from The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars and called it a "masterful documentary".[7] Gayle MacDonald from The Globe and Mail gave the film three out of four stars, praising the visual and musical feature of the film.[8] Harry Windsor from The Hollywood Reporter called it "one of the most visceral essay films ever made" thanks to the musical score and the non-traditional narrative approach, however, he criticised the length of the movie, defining it "slightly overextended".[1]

Accolades

At the 8th AACTA Awards, Mountain won three awards: "Best Cinematography in a Documentary" (Renan Ozturk), "Best Original Music Score in a Documentary" (Richard Tognetti), and "Best Sound in a Documentary" (David White and Robert Mackenzie). The documentary was also nominated for "Best Editing in a Documentary" (Christian Gazal and Scott Gray) and "Best Feature Length Documentary.[9]

Robert Mackenzie was nominated for the "Award for Best Sound" at the 2017 Australian Screen Sound Guild.[10] The film was also nominated for "Best Documentary Feature" at the 2017 Hamptons International Film Festival and "Best Documentary Film (Local or International)" at the 2018 Australian Film Critics Association Awards.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c Windsor, Harry (20 June 2017). "'Mountain': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Mountain". MNTNFILM Database. 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Sherpa (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Mountain". Stranger Than Fiction. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Mountain (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Mountain Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  7. ^ Israel, Janine (13 June 2017). "Mountain review: a sublime rush of adrenaline and orchestral beauty from the director of Sherpa". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  8. ^ MacDonald, Gayle (11 January 2018). "Review: Do not watch Mountain if you have a fear of heights". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  9. ^ "2018 AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel – All Winners & Nominees – by Category" (PDF). AACTA Awards. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  10. ^ "The 7th AACTA Awards". Australian Screen Sound Guild. 5 December 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  11. ^ "HIFF 2017 Release Centerpieces, Spotlights & More" (PDF). Hamptons International Film Festival. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  12. ^ "The 2018 AFCA Awards". Australian Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.