Tenzing (PG)

This thrilling mountaineering biopic offers a much-needed change of perspective on the famous 1953 ascent of Mount Everest.

Tenzing (Genden Phuntsok) is a former Sherpa guide whose unparalleled knowledge of the mountain earned him promotion to full team member. The film traces Tenzing’s calling across three timelines: as a boy, to a young man, and finally as the head Sherpa. Tenzing fights for his place as an equal on the team, eventually forming an unlikely partnership with Hillary (Tom Hiddleston) as the pair make for the peak. Tenzing understands the irony of celebrating those who summit the mountain while overlooking the people who do so much of the dangerous work to get them there.

For years, many assumed that Tenzing was Hillary’s loyal servant. But Tenzing is the hero of this story, and the narrative of the great climb with Hillary and expedition leader John Hunt (Willem Dafoe) is interspersed with flashbacks to his early life. It may not be reinventing the mountaineering movie, but it asks us to look at a familiar summit from the other side