...that chronicles the tragedies and triumphs of obsession and ambition like no other film I've ever seen.

The hand-drawn animation is among the most gorgeous ever put to screen, emphasising the sheer beastly size of the landscapes that these mountaineers attempt to scale. It really makes the futility of their goals all the more tangible.

Yet at the same time, the rich emotion experienced by these characters' successes and failures is also on full display, and it serves as a reminder that our physical insignificance easily pales in comparison to the passions and persistence in our humanity.

This is easily among the top 5 best films of 2021.

Makoto Fukamachi, a young Japanese reporter for a hiking magazine, encounters a mysterious mountain climber named Habu Joji, who might possess George Mallory's camera from the lost 1924 expedition, which might reveal if Mallory and Andrew Irvine really were the first to climb Everest. Fukamachi sets to work searching for Habu Joji and his search digs deep into the mindset and drives of mountaineering.

Adapted from the Seinen manga The Summit of the Gods by Jiro Taniguchi, The Summit of the Gods is a French backed production by Luxembourg based Melusine Productions best known for their contributions on Cartoon Saloon productions like Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner, and Wolfwalkers, as well as Melusine's own Ernest and Celestine. The novel had been previously adapted back in 2016 as a live-action feature. Directed and co-written by Patrick Imbert, Imbert himself has said he's not a mountaineer and wanted to look into the minds of mountains and what drives them to do the dangerous things they do. The Summit of the Gods is an absolute visual marvel that also looks into what drives these mountaineers.

The movie is told primarily from the point of view of hiking journalist Makoto Fukamachi as we follow his search for Habu Joji who may be in possession of photo evidence of the lost 1924 Everest expedition. Throughout Fukamachi journey he interviews various friends and associates of Habu as we get a more detailed picture of what motivated Habu's mountaineering adventures often enduring physical punishment, death of friends, or his obsession with mountaineering driving a wedge between him and his relationships. The mountaineering scenes in the film give a good sense of both the beauty of the mountains as well as the danger as even the smallest mistake could mean plummeting to one's doom. If there is a criticism, it would be in the film's flashback reliant narrative where I often found myself confused by some of the time jumps and wish there could've been text establishing where and when we were in the narrative.

The Summit of the Gods is a beautifully animated journey through mountaineering that also serves as an engaging character study. The movie features some thrilling and tense sequences but also allows you to soak in their beauty as the scene will linger on the beauty and enormity of these marvels. Even if you're not interested in mountaineering, I think it's still a very strong character study and animation showcase.

Seventy years after George Mallory's ill-fated attempt to scale Mount Everest, "Fukumachi", a young Japanese photo-journalist visiting Kathmandu is offered what purports to be the small camera from that very expedition. Scorning the seller, he then spots a large man demanding it back - a man he believes to be the legendary but reclusive climber "Habu Jôji". Determined to track him down, he must use all his determination and guile - and maybe, just maybe, he will manage to get this climber to let him accompany him on the perilous journey to the top of the world. The animation is first-rate, with some great characterisations - and, personally, I felt cold in the cinema just watching as the climbers ascended some of the toughest routes - the Eiger, Matterhorn, the Jura - and, of course, attempt the biggest of them all. Hot on the heels of the equally excellent "Alpinist" (2021) this is another tautly directed piece of cinema that exposes us to the dangers and sheer exhilaration experienced by these climbers and really is well worth a watch.