The Climbers
攀登者
China, 2019, colour, 2.35:1, 125 mins.
Director: Li Rengang 李仁港 [Daniel Lee].
Rating: 6/10.
Patriotic Everest drama is a workmanlike slice of entertainment, thin on real character development.
STORY
China, May 1960. Following reports that a team from a neighbouring country is about to climb Mount Everest from the south side, China forms its own team, including Fang Wuzhou (Wu Jing) and Qu Songlin (Zhang Yi), to scale the north side, the first time ever. Despite losing their leader, the team reaches the summit on 25 May. However, some countries refuse to acknowledge the feat as the team dropped its camera and therefore has no pictures from the summit to prove it. Afterwards the mountaineering team is dissolved and Fang Wuzhou ends up as a boiler-stoker in a factory. But he’s still allowed to give lectures, and one day gets to know College of Meteorology student Xu Ying (Zhang Ziyi), who idolises him. She goes off to Moscow for further studies and when she eventually returns Wang Fuzhou is gone, summoned to join a new team to scale Everest that also includes a lame Qu Songlin, who still bears a grudge against Wang Fuzhou for dropping the camera on their previous expedition. Wang Fuzhou and Qu Songlin put several groups of young people through intensive training, including Li Guoliang (Jing Boran) – the official photographer, for whom Tibetan female member Hei Mudan (Choenyi Tsering) falls – and Yang Guang (He Ge). After training, they all go on a test climb to a peak near Everest. In Mar 1975 the real expedition begins, with Qu Songlin as deputy base commander and Wang Fuzhou as assault-team captain. Xu Ying also arrives, as head meteorologist but Wang Fuzhou insists on delaying their wedding until after the ascent. When the expedition hits a storm, Xu Ying is almost killed but for Wang Fuzhou’s help, and the final ascent is abandoned. A second attempt is made in May, with the relatively inexperienced Li Guoliang replacing Wang Fuzhou, on Qu Songlin’s orders. Li Guoliang dies during the attempt and Qu Songlin admits he made a mistake. Though the season is almost over, Xu Ying identifies a potential weather window during the next 96 hours and a decision to go ahead is finally agreed, with Wang Fuzhou back as assault-team captain.
REVIEW
A fictionalised re-telling of the first two Chinese ascents of Everest – in 1960 and (especially) 1975 – The Climbers 攀登者 is Shanghai Film Studio’s big-budget contribution to the PRC’s 70th anniversary celebrations. Despite being Mainland financed and with an all-Mainland cast topped by action hero du jour Wu Jing 吴京 (Wolf Warrior 战狼, 2015), it’s largely put together by a Hong Kong key crew, under director Li Rengang 李仁港 [Daniel Lee] and co-creative producer Xu Ke 徐克 [Tsui Hark]. An uncomplicated slice of pure entertainment, with plenty of patriotic verve, minimal character development and a token love story, it does its job in a workmanlike way without leaving much emotional wash after the visual effects have died down. Mainland box office just crested the face-saving RMB1 billion mark but came nowhere near the two big October hits, aeroplane thriller The Captain 中国机长 and portmanteau movie My People, My Country 我和我的祖国 (both close to RMB3 billion), and way behind the year’s scifi blockbuster The Wandering Earth 流浪地球 (RMB4.6 billion) and Wu’s personal mega-hit, Wolf Warrior II 战狼II (2017, RMB5.7 billion).
It’s the first non-costume action-fantasy by Hong Kong journeyman Li for over a decade, and his first movie since the bromancey tomb-raiding extravaganza Time Raiders 盗墓笔记 (2016), which also made a surprising RMB1 billion on the strength of its youth casting and the popularity of the source novels. In narrative coherence, Climbers is a step up from Raiders and with less VFX over-kill, but the characters in the script by Li and Tibetan writer A Lai 阿来 are equally cardboard.
As in The Captain (also based on a real event), names have been slightly changed, but far more liberties taken on the dramatic side: in one sequence martial artist Wu shows off his acrobatic abilities while romancing a meteorology student (Zhang Ziyi 章子怡 , clocking in for a nothing role), while a pretty Tibetan member of the team (Choenyi Tsering 曲尼次仁 , Soul on a String 皮绳上的魂, 2016) falls for the young team photographer (actor-singer Jing Boran 井柏然, the lead in Time Raiders). With Wu given little to do on the dramatic side apart from stirring speeches, the most interesting role is his sidekick-with-a-grudge, scene-stealingly played (as usual) by goofy-faced character actor Zhang Yi 张译 (Blood of Youth 少年, 2016).
Technically, the whole production is very smooth, with an autumnal period look by d.p. Zhang Dongliang 张东亮 [Tony Cheung] in the non-mountain scenes, a big heroic score by Li Yunwen 黎允文 [Henry Lai] thundering away beneath the sound effects, and okay art direction by Huang Jia’neng 黄家能 [Eddy Wong] – all Li regulars. Visual effects by South Korea’s Bak Eui-dong 박의통 | 朴义东 range from convincing to corny. The mountain exteriors were shot around Gangshiqia Peak in Qinghai province; a book with the same title, and written by A Lai, was published around the time of the film’s release (see cover, left).
CREDITS
Presented by Shanghai Film Group (CN). Produced by Shanghai Film Group (CN).
Script: A Lai, Li Rengang [Daniel Lee]. Photography: Zhang Dongliang [Tony Cheung]. Editing: Deng Wentao, Li Lin. Music: Li Yunwen [Henry Lai]. Art direction: Huang Jia’neng [Eddy Wong], Zhu Wenlong. Styling: Huang Mingxia. Sound: Zheng Yingyuan [Phyllis Cheng]. Action: Wu Yonglun. Visual effects: Bak Eui-dong (Rasca FX). Executive direction: Chu Wenming.
Cast: Wu Jing (Fang Wuzhou), Zhang Ziyi (Xu Ying), Zhang Yi (Qu Songlin), Jing Boran (Li Guoliang), Hu Ge (Yang Guang), Wang Jingchun (Zhao Kun), He Lin (Zhao Hong, doctor), Chen Long (Lin Jie), Liu Xiaofeng (Xu Haotian), Choenyi Tsering (Hei Mudan), Lawang Lop (Jiebu), Tobgyal (old lama), Cheng Long [Jackie Chan] (old Yang Guang), Li Xinzhe (Liu Bin), Qu Zheming (student), Yinixiangqiu (Zhaxi), Fang Xushi (boiler-room worker), Li Peize (young lama), Zhu Furun (Guo Kun), Li Xinzhe (Liu Bin), Wang Lu (Ma Chuang).
Release: China, 30 Sep 2019.