Himalaya is a 1999 film from Nepal, a Nepali-French coproduction directed by Eric Valli.
It is set in the remote Nepali district of Dolpa, 5000m above sea level. The people of a village make their living by extracting rock salt from the mountain and carrying it to lower altitudes via yak caravan, where they exchange it for grain that will allow them to survive the winter.
As the film opens, a caravan arrives from the salt mines. Lhakpa, chief of the village, is dead; he made an ill-advised attempt at a shortcut through the treacherous mountains and was killed. The village looks for leadership to Karma, a strong young man who had advised Lhakpa against the treacherous shortcut. However, Lhakpa's elderly father Tinle blames Karma for his son's death and refuses to accept his leadership of the tribe. Unfortunately for Tinle he has no plausible candidate to be chief: he is too old, his second son Norbou has been raised as a Buddhist monk since the age of eight, and Lhakpa's son Tsering is a good ten years too young to be chief. The village splits apart as Tinle gathers a group of loyalists while Karma claims the allegiance of most of the tribe. This is very important, as the village soon faces its biggest task of the year: taking the yak caravan down out of the mountains so they can trade their salt for food.
Tropes:
- As You Know: Desperate for help in his rivalry against Karma, Tinle recruits his son Norbou, who is a Buddhist monk. He lets the audience know who Norbou is when he appeals to Norbou with the words "That man is you, my second son."
- Badass Boast: When the scared villagers in his party want to turn back, Tinle refuses, saying "I'm Tinle! I conquer mountain passes!"
- Call-Back: Lhakpa's young son Tsering wonders what a tree looks like, and is excited about taking his first trip out of the mountains and seeing a tree for the first time. The very last shot of the movie is Tsering staring at a tree.
- Circling Vultures: In this instance they are not a sign of doom, but rather they are there for the "sky burial" in which Lhakpa's corpse is laid out to be eaten by wildlife
- Freaky Funeral Forms: The Tibetan/Nepalese custom of the "sky burial", in which the dead are not interred or burned, but are left out in the open, exposed, for vultures and other carrion eaters to consume. In this instance the villagers go the extra mile and butcher Lhakpa's corpse to make it easier for the vultures.
- Headbutt of Love: Norbou, who has lived the sheltered life of a monk and is not accustomed to difficult yak caravans, gives his mom a Headbutt of Love before going on the dangerous journey with Tinle.
- I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: The "demon path" or lake path that Tinle wants to take as a shortcut lives up to its name as a horribly dangerous route along the mountainside.
- Inner Monologue: Ends with Norbou's inner monologue as he thinks about the dangerous journey they underwent and looks at the painting he made to preserve their story.
- I Will Only Slow You Down: A dying Tinle says that Karma and the others have to leave him behind, that they must push on and make it out of the mountains to sell their salt. After he dies, they do in fact leave his corpse behind in a second sky burial.
- Ridiculously Difficult Route: The "demon path" along the lake. Tinle, four days behind Karma but desperate to beat him out of the mountains, insists on taking a shortcut by the lake. This requires taking a long, very narrow path along a high mountainside that overlooks a steep cliff. Worse, the crumbly, rickety stone path is liable to collapse at any moment. They lose one yak and nearly lose Tinle's son Norbou when a chunk of the path does in fact collapse into the lake far below, but Norbou manages to inch his way over the remaining stones and the party makes it out.
- Scenery Porn: It would be impossible to make a movie in the Himalayas of Nepal and not get scenery porn. Staggering mountain views throughout.
- Snow Means Death: In the most literal way. Tinle goes back to look for stragglers as his group is caught in the first blizzard of the season. He eventually collapses in the snow. Karma, advancing from behind with his caravan, saves Tinle, but Tinle dies soon after anyway.
- Succession Crisis: A rivalry over the leadership of the village, after Lhakpa dies and leaves no successor, his only son being far too young.
- Unusual Euphemism: As Tinle tells his people that tomorrow is time to take the caravan out, one villager says "My wife will say goodbye all night!" Tinle cheerfully replies "Make the most of it!"
