Opening of the Venice Festival; 'Everest', the Battle of Man and Nature

'Everest', the loud creation of Baltasar Kormakur, opened the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. In the past two years, the opening films of Venice, 'Gravity' (Alfonso Cuarón) and 'Birdman' (González Iñárritu), achieved widespread success after their screenings in Venice; from seven Oscars for 'Gravity' to the Oscar for Best Picture for 'Birdman'; and both were also among the critics' favorites. 'Everest' also marked a successful opening for the Venice Festival and may be one of the prominent films at this year's Oscars, while many critics—especially English ones—praised the film. This 3D film derives its power from the attractions and new possibilities of cinema; meaning that 'Everest' creates an atmosphere that takes the viewer to the summit of Everest through technology. In fact, the film's atmosphere is its most significant strength, which can sometimes astonish the audience and later engage them with the question of how these scenes were filmed. The film narrates a true story in which a young man named Rob—who is about to become a father—along with his group from various regions, intends to conquer the summit of Everest. Each person has their own motivation for this endeavor, including one who wants to prove to his children that their father is not useless and can also be a hero, but the film does not focus much on the motivations of these individuals. This story, which took place in 1996, does not end well for them: a storm breaks out and some of them die bitterly. The viewer already knows that this group will face such a fate, so the film has a problem from the start: a spoiled ending. However, the screenplay is carefully written—following Hollywood principles—and, aware of this issue, focuses on other points besides surprising the viewer. The story of mountaineering and climbing high peaks has been the subject of various films, but 'Everest' stands out in its creation of magnificent scenes and its depiction of nature and its struggle with humanity, placing it head and shoulders above other films with similar themes. The sense of suspense and the possibility of falling, through various shots from among the rocks—which are filmed very strangely—engages the viewer with the same feelings as its characters, and the prevailing coldness of the atmosphere easily penetrates the screen, immersing the viewer in its chill. However, in terms of theme and content, the film leaves room for interpretation: a kind of evangelical and religious interpretation that narrates the struggle of man against nature in its various layers. In this interpretation—similar to the various layers of 'Titanic' by James Cameron—humans are trying to transcend the established boundaries of nature, which can provoke the wrath of God. As a result of this perspective, the apocalyptic storm that breaks out in 'Everest' is nothing but the anger that nature or God directs towards humanity. Therefore, the struggle of man against nature becomes the main theme of the film, and each of the characters can have a religious equivalent from the Bible. Nevertheless, the film also appears to be a melodrama that attempts to share the relationships of two different couples with us. In this layer, the film does not advance much consciously (for example, instead of focusing on the family life of two individuals, we could have been introduced to the families of the entire group, which would have led to a longer and more tedious introduction), but the film settles for two members of the group and their waiting spouses, quickly taking us to the top of the mountain. The lives of these two couples are on different sides: one is a wife who seems cold but ultimately puts in all her effort to save her husband, while the other is a pregnant wife who hears her husband's cold voice for the last time over the phone. The repetition of dialogues in this conversation—like the repetition of 'I love you'—although based on Hollywood screenwriting techniques to attract a general audience, could have been omitted to bring 'Everest' closer to art cinema.