Review | The Climbers film review: Wu Jing, Zhang Ziyi in patriotic mountaineering drama
- Based on Chinese Mount Everest expeditions of 1960 and 1975, this heavily fictionalised version lets melodrama get in the way of good storytelling
- Despite some thrilling scenes, contrived side stories only lessen the tension and drama

2.5/5 stars
“Let the world see the strength of the Chinese!” And so the last words of a mountaineering team captain go in an early scene in The Climbers. Released in the week the Communist Party celebrates the 70th anniversary of its taking power, Daniel Lee Yan-kong’s heavily fictionalised account of the Chinese Mount Everest expeditions in 1960 and 1975 is a nationalistic spectacle that, curiously, often also allows personal sentiment to get in the way of the greater good.
As part of the trio of Chinese team members who in 1960 reached the summit of Mount Everest – or “Zhumulangma”, as the characters insist it’s called because it’s “our mountain” – assault team leader Fang Wuzhou (Wu Jing) and photographer Qu Songlin (Zhang Yi) have nevertheless lived in deep regret since. The reason? They’ve brought “shame” to their country for failing to provide photographic evidence to make it a legitimate feat in the eyes of the world.
Melodrama is the default mode here for director and co-screenwriter Lee (Dragon Blade) and producer Tsui Hark, whose film sees that team lose their camera in exactly the moment Fang chose to save Qu’s life instead. The decision haunts them: Fang has become a disillusioned factory labourer who cannot bring up the courage to confess his love for meteorology researcher Xu Ying (Zhang Ziyi); while Qu remains obsessed with completing the task, even if it involves sacrificing lives.
When a new Chinese team is formed to climb Everest from the perilous North Ridge again in 1975, Fang and Qu sense an opportunity for redemption. The film then ups the dramatic stakes of its side characters – the far-from-subtle attraction between photographer Li Guoliang (Jing Boran) and Tibetan girl Mudan (Choenyi Tsering); the persistence of team member Yang Guang (Hu Ge) to go on despite having a genetic disorder – before taking the action back on the mountain.