Today, not even Everest, the highest peak on Earth, remains immune to overtourism, as witness to numerous photos that show genuine queues—reminiscent of highway tolls—snaking along the trails that lead to the summit. This, of course, if one chooses to take the now more-traveled and commonplace route, rather than do as ski-mountaineer Jim Morrison did, a story recounted in the documentary Everest: The Other Side, shown in Venice and headed for theaters, where he reached the top of Everest by the opposite face, not exactly easy, then descended to the valley with his skis strapped to his feet. In any case. If today climbing Everest is no longer an extreme feat, it certainly was in the days of Edmund Hillary, the New Zealand climber who on May 29, 1953 first reached the roof of the world. But, as seasoned climbers know well, Hillary did not accomplish the feat alone: it would have been impossible without the indispensable collaboration of Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who completed the ascent with him. It is precisely around the story and the role of Tenzing Norgay that a film has been built, aptly titled Tenzing, which had its world premiere at the Toronto festival and is coming to streaming in Italy on October 16 on Apple TV. The film, featuring Genden Phuntsok in the role of Norgay, Tom Hiddleston as Hillary, and also starring Willem Dafoe, Caitríona Balfe, Thinley Lhamo, and Tenzin Dalha, was directed by Jennifer Peedom, who also wrote the concept alongside screenwriter Luke Davies. Here below are the plot and the official trailer for Tenzing.
Ispirato a fatti realmente accaduti, “Tenzing” racconta la storia poco conosciuta di Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), un talentuoso alpinista himalayano che, insieme all’alpinista neozelandese Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston), fu il primo a raggiungere la vetta dell’Everest. Incoraggiato dalla moglie Dawa (Thinley Lhamo), Tenzing trova un’alleata nella segretaria della spedizione Jill Henderson (Caitríona Balfe). Insieme, convincono il colonnello John Hunt (Willem Dafoe) che Tenzing non deve limitarsi a servire la squadra di alpinisti britannica, ma che ne è parte integrante. Mentre gli alpinisti occidentali vedono l’Everest come qualcosa da conquistare, Tenzing venera il Chomolungma come la sacra dea madre. Quella che ne segue è un’ascensione caratterizzata tanto dalle tensioni tra origini, classi sociali e ambizioni personali contrastanti, quanto dai pericoli della montagna stessa. Ma lassù, al di sopra del mondo, gerarchie, privilegi e aspirazioni svaniscono, lasciando spazio al rispetto e alla fiducia reciproca tra due uomini considerati outsider. Per Tenzing quella conquista rappresenta al tempo stesso la realizzazione del sogno di una vita e il compimento di una profonda vocazione spirituale.
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