The Climb (2017)

French Cinema has often given us comedic gems, but on this occasion, it’s a bit of a hit and miss. This is a feel-good film with love, self-belief, and friendships being at the forefront.

Paris isn’t an easy place to grow up in, especially if it’s the ‘hood’. But for Samy Diakhate (Ahmed Sylla) this is home...this is where his family, troublesome friends, and the love of his life: Nadia (Alice Belaïdi) all live.

Following on from an evening date with Nadia, Samy is left with a peculiar request to win her heart...Climb Mount Everest...which is 29,029 feet! (no biggie then) and just like any man who’s truly in love - Samy embarks on his due course. Adding more difficulty to his journey, Samy has to call in to a Radio Station (who’ve sponsored the expenses of his trip) every day to explain how unforgiving the Himalayas are and as the days go on, more and more listeners tune in.

The scenes were filled with snowy mountains views and used a comedic film technique of shooting close up shots of the actors, so we can essentially laugh at their facial reactions.

Samy (left) and Jhonny (right) staring at the Mountain that needs to be climbed...oh, and don't forget...Samy has no climbing experience.

The overall sense of humour won’t have you crying on the floor, but you’ll get a few laughs even though some jokes were pretty much dead in the waters.

We get to see some sincere acting from Umesh Tamang, who plays Johonny - our lovable Nepalese companion purely helping Samy (Abdul Sylla) achieve his ambitions. Abdul Sylla also gave a solid portrayal of his naive character, after all, he did play a role of a wannabe traveling half way across the world to take on the world highest mountain.

Truthfully, Nadia (Alice Belaïdi) as a character was unappealing, I mean come on?! You’ve got a great guy here so why are you sending him halfway across the world to show his love?

This film was indeed inspired by a true story - Nadir Dendoune, the first Franco-Algerian man to climb Mount Everest without any previous climbing experience.

The film is worth a watch if you’re with your family or if you’re looking to kill some time because you can get a few laughs out of it!

Nadir Dendoune conquering Mount Everest and the inspiration of this film

6/10

Available on:

-Netflix Streaming Service

Nadir Dendoune’s book ‘Un Tacord Sur le Toit du Monde’ that inspired this film is available for purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/2266214969/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zv6TAb0J9WABH