The Summit documents the riveting saga of the infamous mountaineering tragedy on K2 in 2008 with the deaths of 11 people in one expedition. It’s the single biggest disaster to occur in the region and to this day there are many unanswered questions surrounding the foggy events.
K2, traversing the Himalayan border of Pakistan and China is a mountaineer’s mountain. It is revered, admired and feared by all especially the most elite in the trade of climbing. When comparing it to Mount Everest K2 survivor Wilco van Rooijen described it as a mountain for people who were “serious about climbing.”
The Summit features in this years stellar documentary section in Melbourne’s International Film Festival. While the story of the K2 tragedy will certainly go down in history, this film will not. The story telling techniques employed are unoriginal and the direction uninspiring. The Summit tries to explore the core of the heroic Irish climber Ger McDonell but unfortunately tries to cover too much in to little time. This story features so many elements of mystery and the darkness of the mind. This film fails to deliver any of these themes in any spectacular fashion.
