Editors note: This review was originally published May 18 after its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival where it co-won the Jury Prize. It opens in New York theaters Friday., After captivating audiences internationally in 2012 with his Oscar-nominated drama The Broken Circle Breakdown, and making his highly anticipated Hollywood debut in 2018 with Beautiful Boy, Felix van Groeningen now presents his Competition debut in Cannes with The Eight Mountains. This film, perhaps the most understated of his career so far, tells a gentle tale of a decades-spanning friendship. With stunning cinematography and two captivating leads, it’s a visual treat that runs for two hours and 27 minutes. However, it falls short in its storytelling and is overshadowed by Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, which explored similar themes of adolescence and young adulthood during last awards season.
, A French-Italian-Belgian co-production, Eight Mountains (Le Otto Montagne) might have found a more suitable home at Venice, where it would have faced less scrutiny. Nevertheless, it already has a built-in audience as it is adapted from Paolo Cognetti’s bestselling novel from 2016. Fans of the book will not be disappointed, as the film perfectly captures its charming essence, making it an enjoyable read for newcomers as well. However, the script, co-written by van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeesch, lacks adventurousness and relies too heavily on unnecessary voice-overs and montages., The first 35 minutes alone could have been an intriguing short film. We are introduced to 11-year-old Pietro, who is on vacation with his parents in the Italian countryside, seeking respite from their suffocating city life. The only other boy in the area is Bruno, who is around the same age and living with his aunt and uncle while his father is away working. Their summer together is idyllic, but their friendship is doomed. In an attempt to help Bruno, whose future seems limited to his family’s struggling cheese business, Pietro’s parents offer to take him home and provide him with an education. However, Bruno’s father, consumed by jealousy, takes the boy away, and the two friends won’t see each other again for another decade., However, this introduction merely sets the stage for a curiously emotionless buddy movie that evokes the spirit of TV’s Belle & Sebastian with its picturesque scenery and life lessons. Pietro, now portrayed by Luca Marinelli, returns to the city where he becomes estranged from his family and distances himself from his father, a complex figure whose true nature is revealed after his untimely death.
, In order to grieve his father’s passing, Pietro returns to the family’s vacation home, where he reunites with Bruno (Alessandro Borghi) and uncovers the deep bond that formed between his father and the country boy during his absence. Both men now sport bushy beards, and these beards serve as a powerful symbol throughout the next two hours, representing the unspoken connection between boys, men, and their fathers. The mountainous backdrop is breathtaking, but despite the promise of tension in the face of treacherous glaciers and dizzying heights, it never fully materializes. There is little conflict between man and nature, and surprisingly, not much conflict between Pietro and Bruno, even when Bruno starts pursuing Pietro’s girlfriend. Pietro’s decision to leave behind the rustic simplicity of the Italian Alps for the rustic simplicity of the Himalayas is barely acknowledged. It is in the Himalayas that he finally finds inspiration, becomes a respected writer, and learns about the “eight mountains,” a phrase that juxtaposes the experiences of a traveler with the wisdom of a homebound individual., Meanwhile, Bruno is struggling, and for the first time, their decades-long friendship shows signs of strain. It takes a long time for a dramatic catalyst to emerge, and it arrives so late in the film that many viewers may not reach that point. However, for those who do, the subsequent unraveling is a natural progression from the bond they once shared, and it showcases the film’s quietly powerful and understated ambition., Title: The Eight Mountains
Distributor: Sideshow & Janus Films
Release date: April 28, 2023 (NY)
Director-screenwriters: Felix van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch
Cast: Luca Marinelli, Alessandro Borghi, Filippo Timi, Elena Lietti, Elisabetta Mazzullo
Running time: 2 hr 27 min
