This was an excellent movie, and most of all, not “Americanized”; by which I mean, there was no musclebound steroid hero doing all he can to conquer the mountain. It was a father grieving when his child went missing, in the Carpathians, who used all the resources he could muster, called in every favor owed to him, spent nearly all his wealth in an attempt to locate him. The scenery was breathtaking, and the scale of the mountains humbling. The score conveying a sense of futility, haunting the viewer, always present in the background and coming to the forefront in pivotal scenes.
The main character, the hero so to speak, is a flawed man. He’s no Stallone on the mountain. He left his wife for a younger woman, abandoning his son in the process to start a new life. He seemingly cares little for others, only concerned in getting his son back. There’s a bit of corruption at play with the military favors he’s called in. As time passes, and his resources dwindle, we can see that he starts to go through the five stages of grief. We, the viewers, experience this emotional gauntlet alongside him. He vehemently denies when the experts tell him to wait for spring. He gets angry at those that helped, even when they nearly lost their lives to the mountain. He bargains with anyone that will listen, offering money. When those close to him start to leave, and he sees others mourning his son, sadness hits him. And at the end, we start to see a glimpse of his acceptance and the movie ends.
The acting was well done, and every character was believable, and very human. This is how things would go in a similar situation. Naturally not everyone is well off enough to use the same means he did, but if you had the means, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to see your child returned?
I recommend this movie. It’s a powerful tale of the lengths parents would go for their children. In that sense, a very human story. Glad that Netflix added it.
Bogdan's Review Blog 