The Climbers (Pan deng zhe)
THE CLIMBERS (PAN DENG ZHE) - Shanghai Film Co. LTD.
The Climbers (Pan deng zhe), directed by Daniel Lee, takes aim at the perilous attempt by the Chinese government throughout the 1960s and 1970s to conquer and summit Mount Everest. Lee's film is an entertaining, albeit long-gestured, action-adventure with a definite hint of political persuasion.
The performances and narrative are as captivating as can be; the cast collectively puts forward a terrific turn in their respective roles. There is a long-gesturing romance subplot that does not particularly hit the heights for the total engagement and intensity writers Alai & Ying Shang are trying to hit. That being said, there is an ominous and enrapturing tension to compliment the anxious underbelly pinned from a previous mission gone awry that ultimately surrounds the picture. It is this very theme that provides the most considerable amount of weight and layers for a far more immersive experience than the feature arguably deserves — convicted with a robust emotional prowess.
Jing Wu, as summit leader Fang Wuzhou, injects the most significant amount of personality and charm. The weight of the film undeniably rests on his shoulders, sadly, as the other characters are not quite afforded such an arc or material. A rather strange and star-studded guest appearance appears out of nowhere as a sort of post-credits sequence that, if anything, utterly takes the audience out of the picture.
The structure is also slightly skewed. A cold opening that begins without any prior context does not particularly help the engagement levels, with the film's pacing leading to a rather excessive running time of one hundred and thirty-five minutes — which feels slightly bloated in the process. That being said, the sound design and aesthetic are wonderfully implemented, and the film is clearly up against a restraint budget but prevails with genius decisions that create a far more significant and immersive experience.
The Climbers (Pan deng zhe) is released October 4, 2019.
