eddie_baggins A stunningly shot and emotionally engaging Australian backed documentary, the BAFTA nominated Sherpa as directed by filmmaker to watch Jennifer Peedom and her willing crew is one of the years must see docos as well as must see films perse thanks to its well-constructed looked at both the almost indescribable appeal of climbing the world's most famous mountain Everest and the oft-unsung heroes of the successful climbs, the Sherpas.Focusing her attention on Phurba Tashi Sherpa who at the time of filming this documentary had successfully climbed to the Everest peak over 20 times, Peedom captures some otherworldly and magnificent images of a landscape filled with beauty, allurement and potential death and backed by the ever good musical ruminations of acclaimed Animal Kingdom and The Rover scorer Antony Partos, Sherpa has a polish and sheen not often found in home-grown documentaries or documentaries of any heritage at that matter and from the film's opening minutes through to its last important stanza Sherpa will gripe the viewer and not let go.Becoming one of those film crews that were there at the right place and at the right time, Sherpa's initial focus shifts as the film draws on and tragedy strikes the mountain, a tragedy that in many ways reshaped the way business was done and is to be done on the mountain that draws so many people to it each year often at exorbitant prices.Sherpa's who have long been the smiling and gracious whipping boys to Everest's various tourists and wannabe heroes, are here given airtime from both the new to the old (an interesting aspect to the film is the look back at Sherpa Tenzing Norgay) and Peedom and her team shine a light on these often fearless climbers and guides that would risk their lives dozens of times per season to make sure those that have paid to have their experience are given every chance conceivable to make the trek successfully, even if some of the Sherpas here aren't overly affable.Hot off the heels of the good if not great Everest feature from last year, Sherpa is an outstanding documentary that is one of the highlights of Australia's recent output in the medium that includes the must see All This Mayhem and That Sugar Film and Peedom has once again marked herself down as a real talent to watch, while those adventurers looking for an insightful look at one of the world's natural wonders owe it to themselves to watch this eye opening film experience.4 ½ yaks out of 5

plparshall Hard to say - what was left on the editing floor but, it appeared to be from the Sherpa's perspective. One theme which rang through to me was the old 19th Century Master/Slave, Explorer/guide, Great White Warrior theme. And yes, during one of the down time cooling off talks one of the climbers did ask who "owned" the Sherpa who was making the trouble. I have never been over there but to me it seemed to be the Sherpa/Climber relationship has grown from the original 1953 Hillary climb where the climber's held the upper hand and the Sherpa's were subordinate - this film documents the reconsideration of that previous relationship. So it is a worthwhile documentary which I think all interested in climbing will enjoy. Now, personally for me, it's another crack in the wall of white supremacy, imperialism, whatever you want to call it. The hubris of these climbers who "brave Everest" when everything is prepared, lugged, cooked, constructed, behind the scenes by Sherpas is sickening. Their indignity at the Sherpas who dare have an opinion is amazing. Their insensitivity to local loss of life is embarrassing. Using the white supremacy term is serious so let me explain further. There is a movement in Congree to make the Buffalo our National Mammal. Ludicrous. We Europeans wiped out the Buffalo - some for sport some for tongues, and most tragically because we wanted to starve/force the Indians to the reservations so we could steal their land. One of the most noble civilizations ever along with the Buddhists and we wiped them out because we had our Manifest Destiny. What we are/were looking for could be found in the Indian way of life we destroyed. Ditto for chapter 2: the black man. We rape and slave them right out of Africa and act like it's their fault when they are "freed" and try to adapt to be 2nd class citizens. So we put a black on our money and make the Buffalo our national mammal - all fixed? Sorry for the rant but we treat the Sherpas with the same European contempt.

Hallam Drury Beautifully shot, Sherpa is certainly pretty to watch. The cinematography is stunning, assisted very much by beautiful natural landscape and the people at the centre of the film. Technically the film has little to no faults. But I feel as though it only captured a small part of the lives of the Nepalis who work at the mountain. It is very much a film about porters, but there is some distance between their job and them as people. The story at the centre of the film is fantastic, helped in no small part by the film crew being in the right place at the right time, while others were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's a good film that captures a microcosm of the issues with the Everest tourism industry. I just feel that despite the big budget, the beautiful shots and access to the Sherpas that there is far more to their lives than Everest, and the final edit of the film could have addressed this. But otherwise a fine documentary.

Theo Thompson De Wit Whilst this is a very well made, very well shot documentary, there was some hypocrisy from the makers. The film's perspective is that the Sherpas are good and the Western tourists are bad. The film makes a point about how there are a lot of reckless foreigners on the mountain and film crews, but the people making this documentary themselves are a film crew. While the film is very well shot, it does have some very difficult shots that would take lots of planning and potentially be unsafe for some people such as the people driving the helicopter. One of the film's main focuses is on how the Sherpa's lives are at risk because of some people who want to climb the mountain. The film is definitely worth seeing though and has some very impressive shots.