Picturehouse Recommends

From Hidden Figures to Lion, many great biopics have tipped their hats to remarkable feats in the face of adversity. The latest overlooked pioneer to finally get their due on screen is Tenzing Norgay: the first person to do the previously unthinkable and scale Mount Everest. Channelling his soulful appetite for adventure, Tenzing is a breath-taking accomplishment in its own right, with a stellar cast, emotional story and, of course, staggering views. 

Tenzing is an epic tribute to the Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer, portrayed by actor-to-watch Genden Phuntsok (Jinpa, Wind), voyaging across the globe from Darjeeling to the UK. Starting off in the hallowed foothills of Everest, the film charts the budding climber's transformative first encounter with the 29,000-foot mountain as a child through to his hard-won success. We see his first breakthrough as a mountaineer in 1935 Darjeeling (and his romance with future wife, Dawa, played by Thinley Lhamo), six thwarted attempts to reach the mountain's top and, in 1953, the culmination of his efforts with a record-breaking three-month-long ascent up Everest's peak. 

While undeniably an ode to an extraordinary individual, Tenzing is also an exhilarating celebration of teamwork.Tom Hiddleston is Norgay's perfect climbing partner as New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, a fellow outsider in the British climbing team. Norgay finds another ally in expedition secretary Jill Henderson (Caitríona Balfe). Leading the charge is veteran star Willem Dafoe as English Colonel John Hunt, alongside a team of British climbers and the nearly two dozen Sherpa mountaineers whom they hire to help them do what no one has done before and reach the summit. 

There is a first-rate crew behind the camera too. At the helm is BAFTA-nominated director Jennifer Peedom, who returns to favoured territory, having previously made two mountaineering documentaries: Sherpa and Mountain. Its high-octane, high-altitude script is penned by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Luke Davies (Lion), and cinematographer Stefan Duscio (The Invisible Man, Wolf Man) captures the stunning Himalayan mountain ranges in the most extreme of conditions – including braving sub-zero temperatures and being buffeted by 100kph winds. 

"I never heard a single complaint," Peedom says of the cast and crew. "Quite the opposite: so much gratitude for the opportunity to tell this story in this way. Real landscapes, local people, multiple languages, deep cultural involvement and cultural consultation, and importantly, no green screen." The result is a reverent, thrilling and perhaps most tellingly long-overdue eulogy to an unsung hero – and one you won't be forgetting about any time soon. 
Miriam Balanescu 

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Tenzing is in cinemas from 9 October — Book Now!