The Mountains
Two decades after the tragic death of his brother, the director Christians Einshøj's family is falling apart. But when his overworked CEO dad is unexpectedly let go from his job, and decides to sell the family home, Christian goes back home in a final desperate attempt to assemble the family and recover what is lost. Armed with 30 years of home-video, 75.000 family photos and three tightly fit superhero costumes, he ventures into landscapes of long-lost time, in an attempt to confront a 25-year old tragedy, and the hidden wounds left in its wake. It's a story of fathers and sons, of vast collections of stamps and amateur videography, of long-distance business-class flights and all the other ways in which we flee, instead of talking about that which hurts – and of the redemption that can follow when the silence is eventually breached.
-- Dir. Christian Einshøj - 89min - 2023 - Denmark --
"It is perhaps due to the confessional nature of Einshøj’s project that, after years of silence, the brothers finally open up to one another about their deepest fears and anxieties.......In one particularly touching sequence, filled with the deadpan humour of Einshøj’s narration, the three brothers, now adults, dress up in superhero costumes. Behind them is the majestic mountain range of their childhood home; with the young men now standing shoulder to shoulder, a beautiful picture of love and unity emerges from the heartaches of yesterday." - Guardian
"“This unique, eloquent, and deeply honest look at a family told through various lenses was captivating. Christian Einshøj uses humor to tell a deeply personal story that anyone who is part of a family can relate to" - *Winner* Hot Docs Best International Feature Award
"complex, beautiful..... A thoughtful meditation on loss, grief, and trauma" - Int. Cinephile Soc.
"equal parts oddball charming and emotionally devastating....a brave and beautiful film involving a questioning son, a restless father, a Danish-speaking brother, a Norwegian-speaking brother, buried grief, unbridgeable disconnection, a quarter century of silence—and finally, an embrace of the reality that boys do cry." - Filmmaker Magazine
"With a mindful and sensitive touch, Christian Einshøj puts present-day conversations about life and cinema into dialogue with archival home video footage shot by his father over a period spanning thirty years, delivering a deeply moving film." - Visions du Reel
"a sincere piece of family history, an exceptionally made documentary" - Cineuropa
"a wry, moving and often revealing portrait of interpersonal dynamics" - Sheffield Doc Fest
"a tender meditation on the enduring effects of old school masculinity.....This is one of those special films that can merge laughter with sorrow, often in the same instant." - POV Magazine
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The Mountains
-- Dir. Christian Einshoj - 89min - 2023 - Denmark --
Two decades after the tragic death of his brother, the director Christians Einshøj's family is falling apart. But when his overworked CEO dad is unexpectedly let go from his job, and decides to sell the family home, Christian goes back home i...
Extras
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The Mountains - Trailer
Armed with 30 years of home-video, 75.000 family photos and three tightly fit superhero costumes, the director Christian, ventures into landscapes of long-lost time, in an attempt to confront a 25-year old tragedy, and the hidden wounds left in its wake.