New Everest film hopes to nudge US-China relations into a higher altitude

The film Everest: The Other Side, a collaborative US-China project that opened on Friday in 515 US cinemas and that will premiere at 700 IMAX theatres in China on November 6, starts with a majestic shot of the world’s tallest mountain. Then the music builds and more challenging weather rolls in, foreshadowing what is at stake.The film invokes a well-trod narrative for fans of the mountaineering genre: a mix of the grit and sacrifice driving world-class climbers, along with no small amount of tragedy among these extreme humans driven to take on epic risks.What is different is that this ascent finally succeeded on its third attempt by master climber Jim Morrison, not on more conventional Nepal and Tibetan routes, where we are told that 13,000 climbers have reached the pinnacle.