Sherpa Movie now on the Internet

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Messages 1 - 16 of total 16 in this topic

Jan

Mountain climber

Colorado & Nepal

Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 18, 2016 - 03:27pm PT

The movie Sherpa ,about the tragedy in 2014 when 16 Sherpas were killed by a falling serac is now available online. Overshadowed by the release of the movie Everest, about the 1996 tragedy for westerners, this movie is the most authentic portrayal of Sherpa life and thought that I have seen. Every Sherpa I know is also satisfied with its accuracy and that their story has finally been told. If you are at all interested in Sherpas, this is the one. Most of the soundtrack features the Sherpa language with some Nepali and English, but the subtitles are accurate translations.

http://fmovies.to/film/sherpa.rz8m/ool2yj

BruceHildenbrand

Social climber

Mountain View/Boulder

Jun 18, 2016 - 05:52pm PT

I was wondering what people thought about the way Russell Brice conducted himself in this movie. Pretty revealing, IMHO.

SC seagoat

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, Moab, A sailboat, or some time zone

Jun 18, 2016 - 08:45pm PT

Thanks Jan!!! I will watch it.

Susan

neebee

Social climber

calif/texas

Jun 19, 2016 - 01:54am PT

hey there say, jan... wow, thanks again, to you, for all that share, to bring the real-situation, deeper than we know, to our attention...

thanks again...

neebee

Social climber

calif/texas

Jun 19, 2016 - 03:53am PT

hey there say, jan and all... i remember reading everything you shared, back when this happened... it was an awful time, :(

oh my, i am so shocked to see that 'the business' (is that how to call it) of-it-all, and the main man in charge did not agree with the sherpas--:O

oh my, even if they did not understand the deep respect of sherpas, to love their families, they SHOULD HAVE STOPPED, as 'human to human'
at such suffering and loss... :( :o

oh my, ... and sought to give support... oh my, :O

it looks so far more awful too, to see this behavior, in film, seeing this, by watching a man (russell),
say, what was said, wow:
it was 'all about him' and his wants... ????
did i see that right? (i don't mean to be rude) ...

at 57:52, up to 58:07--it sounded so down-right cruel and cold-heart
to those sherpas 'whose country' these climbers are 'foreingers/visitors' in... and, perhaps he should have learned ahead of time?? WHO these
people are, and what their family life is, and how they feel about death, and honoring their loved ones, MEANs to them, as a way of life...

this is very good, jan, this film clip...
folks need to share this, too, so others will know...

i never even knew all this climbing, etc, and group stuff,
was going on, until i came to the taco...

thank you jan, for sharing the needs of these mountain folks...
and the pain that they have gone through all these years,
and how it is getting, and did get, exposed...

Jan

Mountain climber

Colorado & Nepal

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2016 - 08:45am PT

Good points Bruce and Robert L.

There were three years in a row that the Sherpas call Lho Nak, Black Years. They started with the year of the fight, then the serac tragedy that this film portrays and then the earthquake in which 23 people were killed in base camp. At least during the earthquake, equal numbers of foreigners and Sherpas were killed, making the tragedy more palatable. It's a shame a film crew was not on site that year to film the heroic actions of both Sherpas and foreigners to save the wounded.

I feel that Russell Bryce was not portrayed well in this film, in part because the film makers could not capture the subtleties of the interactions. I think his first reaction that it was only a handful of Sherpa renegades who instituted the trouble was wishful thinking on his part. Ed Webster had a much more realistic view of the overall implications. Of course his business was not at stake. Russell had listened to the fears of the serac by his Sherpas the previous year so he was under more pressure than other operators to not cancel two years in a row. He had to express the desires of his clients also, in fear of lawsuits in the West. In any case, it was thanks to his intervention, that the Nepalese government came around and increased the insurance and compensation to the families of the deceased. They owe him a lot for that.

As for the way it was handled, especially since it was being filmed, he was very clever in a culturally sensitive way. He knew his Sherpas could never admit in English on film that they were afraid to continue climbing , although they were if you could understand them speaking in Sherpa language. They also felt tremendous loyalty to him after he had supported some of them for 20 years, and could not emotionally refuse him if he asked them to climb. The fact that his Sherpas were not part of the strike is a mark of how well he has treated them over the years and their loyalty to him. He therefore put the decision to them but in a very clever face saving way.

I'm sure there may have been one or two hotheads who threatened violence but the main thing was that he gave his Sherpas a face saving out by saying he wanted to protect them because it was too dangerous for them not because of the mountain (which they could never admit) but because of radical threats being made.. Face saving in Asia as he knows, is a most important value. The fight the year before was about respect and face saving after Moro insulted Sherpa mothers. To us swearing is a small thing, but to them the loss of face was huge. Russell understood all that.

As for the movie, the Sherpas believe that its distribution was suppressed by the IMAX makers of the film Everest who did not want two versions of Everest climbing distributed at the same time. I would gladly pay to see the film, but it has not been shown widely so I was really happy to finally view it since the Sherpas have given it such a positive review. If it comes around in theaters, I would encourage everyone to go to a theater and pay for a ticket.

Jan

Mountain climber

Colorado & Nepal

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2016 - 02:44pm PT

Robert L,

Thanks for your inside view of some of the other western guide companies and the added perspective. I personally have no stake in any of them including Russell Brice's guide service. What I am relating is how the Nepalese press and the Sherpas I know saw the scene and my own understanding of Sherpa culture.

it is an unfortunate fact of life that the Nepalese government does not pay attention to its own citizens unless they are high caste like the people who staff the government or they fear that western sources will dry up the foreign aid because they are unhappy about something. A good example is that over 4 billion dollars was pledged in earthquake relief and now 15 months after the quake less than $50,000 of that money has been released to the earthquake victims.

Thus I will say it was western pressure on behalf of Sherpas, with Russell Brice at the forefront of the international publicity, that caused the Nepalese government to finally pay attention. They did get the message and a year later, just before this climbing season opened and too late for most of the climbers who could have benefitted, declared that the people whose climbs were disrupted by the earthquake would not have to pay the $10,000 peak fee over again.

Interestingly one of the outspoken leaders of the strike in 2014 was the leader of the rope fixing team this year (separate from the icefall docs) using the Sherpa invented slogan of "We will Rise" referring to the earthquake (and also themselves). The Nepalese government having finally awoken to the importance of the Sherpas to keeping the cash cow flowing, then held a highly publicized ceremony in Kathmandu to thank the rope fixing team and award a special plaque to the leader.

Times are changing!

Stewart Johnson

Mountain climber

lake forest

Jun 19, 2016 - 05:27pm PT

Sad.

couchmaster

climber

Jun 19, 2016 - 09:01pm PT

Thanks for both the insightful comments and also for linking the film.

BLUEBLOCR

Social climber

joshua tree

Jun 19, 2016 - 10:13pm PT

Thamnks Jan. seen it.

i think the lady sum's it up in the begining by saying; "Phumba loves the Mt. more than he loves his family"..

Jan

Mountain climber

Colorado & Nepal

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 20, 2016 - 07:51am PT

I can't imagine blue, how you reach that conclusion. Other than being a poor subsistance farmer making the Nepalese average income of $700 per year, there is no alternative employment in that country for someone of his education level and ethnic background. He works at mountaineering in large part so his children can get an education and have other choices. He was able to quit doing that work based on what he had saved from doing it.

Prior to mountaineering, Sherpas existed on a diet of boiled potatos (up to 12 pounds a day) dipped in salt and chili powder. No meat, eggs, dairy products, fruits or vegetables for months on end, just potatos, salt and chilis. I know because i lived at that standard along with them. Their children were illiterate and their caste was scorned by the dominant Hindus. There was no medical care other than shamans. Their average life span was 50 years. Is that really what you want them to go back to?

Jan

Mountain climber

Colorado & Nepal

Topic Author's Reply - Jun 21, 2016 - 07:50am PT

I think that happens when the deceased Sherpa is the youngest son who is the one supposed to take care of the parents in their old age. It is figured that the widow is young and can still work whereas they can not and her sons will take care of her in old age. In any case, most of any insurance money is used for an expensive funeral as someone who dies a sudden violent death needs a lot of help not to become a ghost unable to reincarnate?!

The more interesting question I will inquire about is what happens to the parent's property when they die? It is supposed to go to the youngest son and later his sons. I would guess that other blood sons might try to intervene however, to get some for themselves.

I never thought of this issue before. Thanks again for your insight.

(I have however, tried to persuade Sherpas and other Nepalese friends who work in the business to take out supplementary life insurance, but they are reluctant to spend the money on a gamble that they hope will never pay off).

overwatch

climber

Arizona

Jun 21, 2016 - 11:43am PT

Haven't looked at this until now because my high altitude aspirations are realistically in the past. I haven't finished reading it yet there are some long posts but I can tell already that they're good and always appreciate opinions from Robert L, although I thought him a bit arrogant at first, and of course Jan is always the voice of decorum and reason on this forum.

My opinion now is that what I perceived as arrogance is probably just confidence born of experience

High Fructose Corn Spirit

Gym climber

Jun 21, 2016 - 04:06pm PT

Yes, seems like a pirated movie site. I'm amazed it's up.
Will be interesting to see if it stays up. Great find, Jan. :)

I imagine 'fmovie' stands for free movies? :)

Meru appears available too as well as many US blockbusters.

The most watched page is interesting...
http://fmovies.to/most-watched