Eleven veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan join an expedition to climb the 20,000 foot Himalayan giant Mount Lobuche. With blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer and a team of Everest summiters as their guides, they set out on an emotional and gripping climb to reach the top in an attempt to heal the emotional and physical wounds of the longest war in U.S. history.
Cinematography
Himalayan footage so gorgeous it physically hurts.
Practical Effects
Real veterans, real summit, zero Hollywood safety nets.
Direction
Brown lets silence and struggle speak louder than narration.
Director
Michael Brown
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Erik Weihenmayer was the first blind person to summit Everest in 2001; this was his return trip as guide, not climber.
Released when veteran suicide rates were spiking, the film became unofficial therapy for military families who felt unseen by Hollywood war films.
US
