Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix Van Groeningen 's The Eight Mountains, winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, is a beautiful story of long-lasting friendship. Pietro and Bruno meet as children, and the viewer follows them over several decades to a village in the mountains where the two friends meet up every year. This is the adaptation of the novel of the same name, written in 2016 by Paolo Cognetti. This is the first time the two Belgian filmmakers have worked together. While Felix Van Groeningen has already made a name for himself, thanks to Alabama Monroe (2012) and My Beautiful Boy (2018), Charlotte Vandermeersch signs her first film as a director.
And for the first time, the two artists relocated to Italy. The Eight Mountains was shot in fabulous natural settings. Throughout the film's nearly 2.5 hours, the protagonists, played by Luca Marinelli and Alessandro Borghi, roam the magnificent lands of Valle d'Aosta. In addition to the beautiful story, viewers can enjoy the contemplative, beautifully shot hiking scenes. But the film's strongest point remains its characters, and above all the bond that unites them.
Pietro is a city boy, Bruno the last child to live in a forgotten village in the Aosta Valley. They make friends in this hidden corner of the Alps that serves as their kingdom. Life takes them apart, but never completely. While Bruno remains faithful to his mountain home, Pietro travels the world. Their journey will bring them face to face with love and loss, origins and destinies, but above all, a life-and-death friendship.
Our verdict
Sublimated by its dreamy setting, The Eight Mountains moves us with the strong relationship that unites its two protagonists. From childhood to adulthood, we see them go through all possible states, and a whole life passes by on screen. The film may seem long, but it's precisely because it takes the time to make its characters believable that it manages to be so successful.
It's the small details of their relationship that make this story so subtle. Despite the years, this bond endures but evolves, is abused, broken, repaired. The thirty-plus years covered by the script allow the work to take on great scope. It's thanks to this constant identification with the two friends that the emotion arises, right up to the heartbreaking final scene.
December 2024 cinema releases: Films and times near you
Discover all the movies in theaters in December 2024 with showtimes near you. Don't miss a single movie! [Read more]
December 2024 cinema releases: Films and times near you
