To the Mountain
Short and sweet, this feature debut from Alberta filmmaker Eric Pauls makes the most of both its mildly quirky characters and the stunning scenery of the Rockies.
Peter Morgan and Daniel Braun play Chris and Jon, a father and son on a road trip in the mountains. The oblique opening suggests they’ve lost someone in a car crash, but Pauls keeps that imprecise; he’s more concerned with the characters’ here-and-now.
When they split up, Jon hikes into the wilderness to take pictures with his oldfashioned camera, while Chris strikes up a friendship with a retired teacher (Joan Miles) after she almost runs into him with her car. ( The mild- mannered Chris is remarkably good- natured about this accidental meet- i ng.) There’s probably a film’s worth of material to be mined from these two, as they decide to take their own hike in the mountains, their gentle flirtation gradually increasing after Chris reveals that he’s been a widower for the past year.
But the writer/director ( and producer, composer and soundtrack guitarist) is also interested in the theme of interconnectedness— an offhand comment from Chris convinces a café server (Alysa van Haastert) to walk away from her job and take her own walk in the woods, which will of course intersect with that of Jon.
To t he Mountain was filmed in and around the hamlet of Exshaw, Alta., and the landscape looms large, as much a character as the humans meandering through it, each of them ruminating on some loss or change in his or her life. Japanese has a term for this kind of wistful poignancy — mono no aware. To the Mountain might just be its cinematic translation.
½ To the Mountain opens Feb. 2 in Calgary, Feb. 10 in Edmonton, and March 27 on demand.