There are certain movies in modern cinema that have an abstract length and tempo. They're often hard to describe and sometimes even tougher to sit through. At the same time, they work somewhat like a time travel machine. Suddenly, everything stops and life flashes before your eyes. Before you even realize it, you're contemplating the sense of your life and are forced to evaluate the decisions you made and the person you've become. You either love it or you hate it.
In 2021, Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi was a pitch-perfect example of such cinema. Now, it's almost impossible not to feel similarly about The Eight Mountains by Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch.
The film follows a simple yet complex story of Pietro, who visits an almost abandoned mountain village as a child with his mother during summer. There, he meets Bruno, a boy his age who's one of the 14 citizens who have stayed following an "industrial revolution." Their lives vary on every possible level.
Pietro is a city-raised boy, with all the flashy clothes and fancy Adidas on his feet, while Bruno wears the same dirty bags and has to take care of cattle. The former is successful in school, while the second struggles to read. Yet, they form a connection that, to much of their surprise, would hold them together until the end of their lives.
At first sight, The Eight Mountains feels like an ordinary story of friendship that was lost in time, yet marks its return in an unexpected fashion as both Bruno and Pietro (now adults) find themselves building a house together. A house, that was a dream of Pietro's father, who doesn't really have a significant relationship with his son but has found an oddly, though, understandably, strong bond with Bruno instead.
The friendship between Pietro and Bruno is a feat so incredibly acted and written, with its subtlety telling us more emotions than any words could have, that it's definitely a perfect choice to have it as a main story. What does true friendship mean? And how much can it take? Does it have boundaries, and if so, can they ever be crossed? You'll find answers to these questions here. But The Eight Mountains is much more than that.
It's a tale about stepping out of your parents' shadow, yet struggling to cut away the same (often toxic) habits they had. It's about searching for your own purpose, while also trying to fulfill your parents' wishes and dreams. It's about looking for your own place in the world in light of always being the second choice among the people you know, but still coming back and finding happiness and solace with them. It's about crossing your own limits in your head but failing plenty of times along the way.
The list of themes in The Eight Mountains is definitely a lengthy one. Such cases are often a recipe for messy productions that struggle to keep viewers' attention. This time around, it's also not perfect. There are moments when you start crying, only to wipe your tears and focus again on the short but important conversations, with dramatic, almost thriller-like music suddenly playing in the background. Then you're back to crying but also holding your breath.
Yes, The Eight Mountains can be sometimes hard to keep track of. With all its emotional themes and rhythmical rollercoaster, you will find yourself confused, just like I did. Still, it does an even better job of gluing you back into the screen, not only due to the story but the monumental views it shows.
The majority of the movie takes place somewhere in Italian Alps. While I've never personally seen this part of the world, I don't need any convincing anymore to do so. The film is shot masterfully, with the camera often zooming out and transforming the main characters into a small element of the background, while the astonishing mountains take the main stage.
There aren't many moments like these in The Eight Mountains, but when they strike, they do so with full force. With an inspiration surely taken from a movie like Into the Wild (2007), it feels somewhat familiar, but it doesn't take away the pleasure and with its unusual narrow camera angle, it's certainly special.
On top of that, these mountains, cliffs, edges, and so on aren't only there to take your breath away. They're a perfect metaphor for the story. "The mountain is a way of living life. One step in front of the other, silence, time and measure," says Bruno throughout the film.
The Eight Mountains is an incredibly ambitious project which tells numerous stories, all connected to each other. Pietro's journey to self-discovery is one that won't grab everyone's attention at first sight, but those who give it a try and have some patience will certainly be rewarded with a mix of emotions. Emotions, that take your heart by storm and won't let go.
You either love or hate this kind of cinema, and I unquestionably belong to the first group. After watching The Eight Mountains, you will love it as well.
