Opening film at the 72nd edition of the Venice International Film Festival, Everest (here the review) is the adventure thriller signed by the Icelandic director Baltasa Kormakur, inspired by the real expedition that took place in 1996 in the direction of the summit of Mount Everest. Produced by Universal, the film obtained a budget of around 65 million dollars due to the reconstruction of the locations and the star cast that composes it, including Jake Gyllenhaal And Josh Brolin.

To tell the story of the mountaineers who undertook the enterprise, the authors drew inspiration from various essays on the subject. Among these are Thin airwritten by Jon Krakauer, Everest 1996, written by Anatoly Bukreev And Left for DeadOf Beck Weathers, one of the survivors of the tragedy. Among these, Krakauer accused the director of having distorted the events, but I underline that for the film the main source of inspiration was Weathers’ writing, which simply presented several elements of contrast with Krakauer’s.

After the presentation at the famous Venice exhibition, where it collected generally positive reviews, the film finally arrived in theaters, achieving good success with the public. For its budget, in fact, Everest managed to earn about 203 million dollars globally. In particular, the special effects used have obtained a good appreciation, judged realistic and capable of giving an idea of ​​the danger of the place and its adverse weather conditions.

Everest: the plot and the cast of the film

The film focuses on the group who, under the leadership of Rob Hall (Jason Clarke,) owner of Adventure Consultants, is preparing to undertake the Everest climb. At the same time, another group, formed by the mountaineer Scott Fisher (Jake Gyllenhaal ) is there for a “tourist” expedition. Having met at base camp, the presence of more people than expected makes the attempt to climb more crowded than necessary, consequently complicating the preparation of the expedition. To simplify the climb, Rob and Scott decide to work together and set the date of the joint departure for May 10, 1996. During their journey, however, a sudden blizzard puts the climbers in serious difficulty, who find themselves facing obstacles to the limit of their possibilities.

The actor Christian Bale he had originally landed the role of Rob Hall, only to leave it due to other commitments. In place of him took over Jason Clarke, who expressed particular enthusiasm for the part. In fact, to better prepare himself, he also decided to dedicate himself to some climbing on the mountains of Scotland and New Zealand. The actor is also in the cast Josh Brolinas Dr. Beck Weathers. This is one of the survivors of the expedition, who however lost the use of his hands and nose due to the extreme cold encountered on the mountain. To prepare for the role, the actor also decided to meet the real Weathers, to get from him more details on his behavior during the story.

One of the best-known names associated with the project is that of Jake Gyllenhaal . The actor, who plays the role of Scott Fischer, was also contacted by his children. He was thus able to discover many details about the person he would have played, and his performance was in fact judged particularly realistic by Fischer’s relatives. Also featured in the film are other well-known Hollywood names, such as Keira Knightleyas Hall’s wife, Robin Wrightas Weathers’ wife, Sam Worthingtonin the Guy Cotter part of the guide, e Elizabeth Debickiwho plays Dr. Caroline Mackenzie.

Everest: the true story behind the film

In drawing on the literary sources mentioned at the beginning, the film proves to be particularly faithful to the various testimonies of the tragic event. The two groups, Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness, actually left shortly after midnight on May 10th, immediately finding themselves facing various unexpected events. The presence of 34 climbers was in fact a reason for confusion in the organization, and although they managed to reach the summit, the delay in the descent proved to be the decisive element for the tragedy. Having started this operation after 15:00, the light in fact began to decrease, with the addition of an unexpected snowfall that led the group to lose orientation.

With difficulty, the mountaineer Anatoly Bukreev managed to bring back almost all the missing. However, Doug Hansen, Andy Harris and Rob Hall remain on the mountain. The first two climbers die during the night, while Hall manages to get in touch with his wife before he too dies. His body was later found on May 23, but at the will of his spouse it was left to rest on the beloved mountain. Bukreev then finds Weathers, but considering him doomed, he finds himself having to abandon him. However, motivated by the desire to embrace his family again, the man managed to descend from the mountain, later finding salvation in a helicopter rescue. At the time, it was the highest-altitude operation accomplished by this craft.

The rescuers then find Scott himself, together with other climbers, but their desperate conditions do not allow rescue operations. Scott, in particular, seems to have suffered from lack of oxygen and cerebral edema, caused by excessive efforts and lack of rest. Finally, death by freezing is confirmed, and their bodies are also still found on Everest. In total, the expedition recorded 4 missing and 8 dead, becoming the event with the highest number of casualties that occurred on the mountain. It remained so until 2014, when an avalanche claimed 14 lives.

Everest: the trailer and where to watch the film in streaming

For lovers of the film, or for those who want to see it for the first time, it is possible to enjoy it thanks to its presence on some of the most popular streaming platforms on the net today. Everest it is in fact present in the catalog of Rakuten TV, Chili Cinema, Google Play, Apple iTunes and Tim Vision. To see it, once the reference platform has been chosen, it will be enough to rent the single film or subscribe to a general subscription. In this way you will be able to watch it in total comfort and at the best video quality. The film is also present in the television schedule of Monday 22nd May at 21:00 On the canal Iris.

Source: IMDb, History vs Hollywood