Enter the hair-raising first entry of adventurer/filmmaker Alex Harz's Quest Series. An immersive and epic project that aims to shed light on rarely heard stories from captivating places all over the world. In this debut effort, Harz and his team scale the peak of the mighty goddess mother of the world: Mount Everest. While doing so, he makes good on his quest, offering up thought-provoking snippets of life in Nepal and the inner workings of the Nepali people.
“The Quest: Nepal” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
The travel-documentary wastes no time in throwing the audience right into the action with the opening shot of Kathmandu in the nighttime. Scenes of tumultuous traffic and hardscrabble construction workers remind us of how similar Nepal is to its influential powerhouse of a neighbor, India, but somehow still clings onto its uniquely blended spiritual identity as we soon discover. The following morning, Alex meets up with local guide Kumar Rupakheti, who leads the viewer on a packed itinerary around the city. Rupakheti attempts to unravel the intricate textures of the deeply sacred country with trips to a myriad of fascinating places, including a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, Pashupatinath, to witness the cremation of Hindu bodies, and observing blessings bestowed by Sadhus (holy Hindu ascetics) at the largest Stupa in Nepal.
Echoing the great travel docus of Anthony Bourdain, Simon Reeves, and Joanna Lumley, “The Quest” also brings us right into the nitty gritty POV of the people who live in the city, revealing a complex country that is rarely portrayed by the media. One that is in the ‘middle of a geological chess match between the two most populous nations on Earth.' Fighting to starve off civil unrest but also having to deal with natural disasters and foreign doctrines. The segments offer up much food for thought that lingers and inspires, leading on to a fine transition into the second act and the bulk of the film's action. This part sees Alex make good on his quest to scale the highest point on Earth, a mission he held onto since his younger days sitting on a couch as a teenager in the flat farmlands of the American Mid-West.
While the production team hurdles over the complexities of planning their ascent to the summit, “The Quest” veers dangerously close to being passed off as just another Everest documentary. The kitschy oft-repeated background tracks-which are clearly stock music, add to the sentiment. But stay on after the mundane introduction and you will be rewarded with some of the most adrenaline-pumping visuals ever caught on camera for such an endeavor. Picture venturing across gaping ice crevices 15 metres wide using only a metal ladder and horrific avalanches cascading entire chunks of the mountainside. Exemplifying how the photography by Sam Emerson Morgan, drone footage of Manish Maharjan and overhead camera of Alex Harz all come together in a forceful tripartite to define the sheer danger and excitement of climbing all 8848 meters of Mount Everest.
Ultimately, knowledge is power, and this film is just that, powerful. Like how its director manoeuvres across ice sheets and rock crevices, it tiptoes between the touchy topics of faith and spirituality with a respectful and enlightening light. An informative and thrilling introduction to “The Quest Series” that lays the groundwork for things to come. It will be exciting to see where Alex Harz and his team take us on for their next great adventure.
