I remember studying Mt. Everest in elementary school. One of my teachers mentioned how Edmund Hillary was the “first” climber to summit the largest mountain on the planet. One of the kid’s asked “why did you do the quotes?” And the teacher said, probably because sherpas have been climbing that mountain for years but never took the credit for it. That may or may not be true, but Tenzing quasi exists as an overdue love letter to the real hard workers on those mountains, so those European expeditions can take all the glory for themselves. Turns out not every feat of strength is calling to the West only.
Sometimes it’s calling a little boy from Tibet. Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phunstok) would seem to be an unlikely candidate to get to the top of Chomolungma (Tibetan name for Mt. Everest). From nothing, orphaned in a monastery, Tenzing has the lucky chance to meet legendary climber George Mallory (Johnny Flynn) who cements Tenzing to explore every part of Chomolungma’s terrain. As he grows older, he becomes a local expert, winning the hearts of climbing organizer Jill Henderson (Caitriona Balfe) and Tenzing’s rich wife Dawa (Thinley Lhmao). Tenzing is rewarded with a membership to England’s climbing organization run by John Hunt (Willem Dafoe), and allowed to be part of the team considered to be the first to top Everest, including many other Brits and kiwi (eg New Zealander) Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston).
Director Jennifer Peedom really wants Tenzing Norgay to feel like a larger than life figure. She does it through the editing bay, turning the sherpa/climber’s life into basically a sports movie. The main through line is the fateful March 1953 British expedition with Hunt, Hillary, and our hero. But there’s only about 60 minutes worth of story there, building smartly around the outsider othering status Tenzing, and even Hillary find themselves in since they’re not English born and bred. But human obstacles cannot overcome Tibetan spirituality, which Tenzing and the movie are immersed in. In between 1953 sequences, Peedom fills out Tenzing’s incredible life story, and how that unexpected child was born for this moment. His whole life there have been one obstacle after another: physical, Nepalese customs (he’s low class, and has to stay away from Dawa), language barriers, lack of written climbing credentials, you get the idea. Each blockade in 1953 is followed by a past tale showing how our guy has already encountered something like this before, and is ready to counteract with his intellect, his physical prowess, or his faith. Each piece of who Tenzing is becomes essential to his survival when trying to earn Chomolungma’s blessing to continue.
With the tale in place, it’s time for some action. Peedom has been making mountain documentaries for over a decade now, so this is ice fish in a barrel stuff for her. The epic mountain shots with tiny people never fails to amaze and hammer the sheer scope of Tenzing and Edmund Hillary’s victory. Peedom also leans into specific details of mountaineering and makes the process exciting, like trying to cross a deep ice gorge over deal with hypoxia on old equipment. As such, this approach makes all sequences big, small, expected, unexpected, part of the greater excitement kind of like the little victories in Apollo 13, as Tenzing and Hillary get closer and closer to Everest’s Peak. The Tibetan spirituality feels like it blessed Tenzing, giving it a mystic quality befitting Genden Phuntsok’s hopefully star making portrayal of a man who achieved one of the great living feats in world history.
I live in the flattest part of planet Earth for a reason. But even I am in awe of Tenzing Norgay’s brilliance in life. There’s no shortcuts for him, and he had to earn every inch of that reward, which can never be taken away as it is captured on film. Also big props for “not knowing” how to operate a camera so there’s really only a picture of Tenzing up on Everest. That would be my story, and I’d be sticking to it too.