A documentary like no other, 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible is the story of Nirmal Purja and his team. According to the synopsis, the doc explores Nepal’s deep connection to high-altitude mountaineering through the eyes of “Nimsdai”. “A fearless, fun-loving Nepali climber on a quest he dubs ‘Project Possible’—to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter mountains in just seven months, breaking the previous record of seven years. With a team of skilled Sherpas, he traverses Mount Everest, K2, and other iconic peaks through extreme weather, life-or-death decisions, and the emotional weight of his mother’s illness back home.” And it is all that and more!

Written, directed, and produced by Torquil Jones and Executive produced by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, 14 Peaks is a thrilling, action-packed story about courage, perseverance, and pushing the limits of human endurance.

It may not be as christmassy a movie as you’d have imagined because of the headline, but it sure is the jolt of inspiration, positivity and love for the holidays you’d need. It’s a documentary, but packs a lot of entertainment and great storytelling.

The story is simple. It talks about the true blood Nepali folx, a lot of who help western mountaineers summit the peaks, but this one is different, because it is this one man, who is determined to show that these sherpas have names. So what Nimsdai, has decided to do, is that for him to mount Project Possible, where 5~6 sherpas would summit 14 of the world’s tallest peaks(8000 metres and above) in a stipulated time, the last world record of which rests at 16 years. Now, to do such a feat, he’d need a lot of money, a whole lot of drive to keep going and a great window to do it, since spring of every year is peak mountaineering season. The crux of the story is that and a lot about the human spirit and how much of your willpower you can push and keep going.

“I’d like to quote Nimsdai here – When you think you’re fucked, you’re actually just 45% fucked.” Lol, I think that could be a tee-shirt.

The documentary has an almost thrilling background music underplayed with some serious treble and actual wind gushes to make you feel like you’re chasing the dream with the team. Its cinematography is testament to the fact that we’ve barely seen any of Earth’s footage from 8000 meters and above and the layers of blue you see in the sky are proof of what clear air looks like.

Storytelling wise, the movie feels closer to home, because you have seen the Indian Bollywood hero being stubborn and being the mumma’s boy; both of which are very close to India tropes, but having said that, even though our main man is a Nepali, you start to root for him, like you would for a neighbor. You wish for him to succeed since the beginning of the documentary.

Verdict.

All in all – it is a worthy binge watch and is highly recommended.

Cover Image: Netflix