Rating: 
Summary: AN INCREDIBLE FEAT IN FILMMAKING
Review: I saw this movie in a tiny theatre in Nepal, sitting on a hard wood bench - the first place it was ever released. I was even fortunate enough to meet one of the actors from the film. I had just driven through the Himalayas via Land Rover from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal and I was trying to come up with a way to describe to everyone back home how incredible Tibetan people are. **This movie left me in awe.** It not only captures the breathtaking landscapes but also, the beauty of these people whose culture and lifestyle are so foreign to Westerners. I cannot wait to get my hands on a few copies because I will surely send it to everyone I know. You MUST watch this film!! Eric Valli is a god. And the actors in the film deserve just as much credit - none of them were actual actors before they were cast in this movie. I can't recommend it enough.
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Summary: review of himalaya - l'enfance d'un chef
Review: i saw this wonderful film on the plane on the way back from india, and i've been trying to find it ever since. this simple and affecting story of a chief's attempts to save his village from starvation affected me deeply, as it will anyone who has had their fill of hollywood trash. it is superbly filmed and captures the harsh natural beauty of the 'land of snows', and deals sensitively with the universal themes of loss, mourning, and human endeavour. if you've ever been to the himalayas this film will bring it all back, and if you haven't been it is enough to make you want to go. i can't recommend it enough!
Rating:
Summary: Beyond my imaginings...beauty unparalleled!
Review: If I am never able to make it to Tibet, I will be the poorer for it, but the scenery from "Himalaya" is so spectacular, and the human drama so real and touching, that I feel enriched for having seen this film and felt closer to that faraway place and its peoples. Enjoy, and then pass it to someone who hasn't seen it yet.
Rating:
Summary: A Work of Art
Review: If you believe film should be an art-form, then you'll love Himalaya. As the director states in the bonus audio track, the production team did not identify and write to a "target market" when developing the screenwriting, they did not follow the dreary Hollywood "recipe" for filmmaking, and, most importantly, they DID use non-actors to portray almost all the lead and back-up roles. Tinle, the lead character, is a treasure. The first time I viewed the movie, I thought, "what a wonderful actor." His timing is exact yet unpredictable, his personality forceful, his face is exquisite, his form unique and authentic. A natural, I thought. Indeed, he plays himself in a quasi-autobiography, and what a wonderful character he is.
This is a movie about an ancient civilization we are losing and, sadly, will soon be lost. Really, its a documentary, and, as the director states, it will certainly be used by future historians as a visual artifact of what is soon to become the lost Dolpo civilization of Nepal. The soundtrack conditions you to this heartbreaking reality.
The movie is successful on many levels: a mother's lost love (who hasn't seen her adult child since he was eight); a loving grandfather/grandson relationship, which is painfully lost; a wife who loses her husband, and a young boy who loses his father then attempts to make sense out of the loss; a young religious man who chooses the "difficult" path over the easy monastic life; a classic confrontation between generations; an old man whose entire life is built on strength, perseverance, and admiration, but then who ultimately must let go of it all to those who are destined to succeed him.
I loved this movie. It made me think of my mother, an artist, whom I miss dearly. Himalaya is a work of art.
FYI - Eric Valli authored a feature article for National Geographic that details the story of the Dolpo. I recommend you check this out at your local library (yes, that great American institution currently under threat by invasive Republicans who would restrict your rights, by Libertarian Republicans who would de-fund libraries - given the chance, and by bible-thumping Republicans raised on hate who are raping Mother Nature in a quest to hasten their Armageddon myths.)
Rating:
Summary: an amazing experience
Review: Like Justin Henkel, I saw this film in Kathmandu, Nepal for a full house. Caravan is an amazing film dipicting the Dolpopa people of Northern Nepal. These are my people. I feel so close to them through this movie! If you have any heart for Nepal or it's people, SEE THIS MOVIE!
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Summary: Changes YOU
Review: My experience is that this film is not only absolutely beautiful but also extremely powerful. Tears were falling down my cheeks for a majority of the film..... maybe I am a little overly-open, but I find it hard to imagine that anyone seeing this film will not be moved.... the question is: when will it be on video so that more can see it... although without question it SHOULD BE SEEN on a large screen.
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Summary: Discover the Himalayas
Review: No special effects.
No romance.
No technology.
A simple story which reason to be is only so that you can discover the Himalayas.
And the Himalayas: a harsh life in a harsh country. I found the movie to be a masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Visuals class story
Review: Not since "Out of India" have I seen a movie with such stunning cinematography and both gorgeous and picturesque settings. Having been to Nepal I also found this to be a fair (if not modern) portray of life in Nepal/Tibet. The story is a classic and I'd recommend anyone who has the opportunity see it.
Rating:
Summary: Window into an Elevated World
Review: On the surface this might seem like a movie to attract the art house set interested in a foreign location and foreign culture, but it is so much more. It is a timeless tale capturing timeless issues of the human condition, regardless of cultural boundaries. It is less about what it means to live in the Dolpo region of Nepal and more about the shift, balance, and tug between generations and the respect for tradition versus the pull of the younger set to move on. The cinematography is exquisite. The scenery is the stark dry beauty of the Himalayas progressing with the story further and further up into the elevated reaches of snow covered passes. It is rare to see such beauty captured in other films. The scenery alone is worth the price of admission. As if the window into the Himalayas wasn't enough, the story line is finely told, finely acted, and finely directed. There are scores of gems on what leadership is all about, how we sometimes have to bow to higher powers regardless of position, how the generations relate, how we mature, how we accept life and death, and how power shifts. Besides the depth of the culture-transcending story, we still get a window into the world of what a traders village in the Dolpo region of Nepal may be like. The oneness of life and the mountains, the salt and grain trade to sustain life, the reliance on the caravan, the system of chiefs, are all a wonderful way to gain a better understanding of another culture from the comfort of you living room. If you already had a healthy wanderlust for that part of the world, the film will only serve to stoke those flames. Eric Valli's "Himalaya," is an epic beauty, a true masterpiece not to be missed.
--MMW
Rating:
Summary: Go see it!
Review: Saw it in London but have been to Himalaya.....this film is thebest film I've seen in a long, long time and totally captures the fierce majesty of the Himalaya. Incredible acting from non-actors, an actual plot (rare these days!), locations beyond belief. See it and buy the DVD when it comes out.
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