Winner of the top two prizes at the Critics’ Week section of the 2017 Cannes International Film Festival, Gabriel and the Mountain stunningly depicts the remarkable true story of young Brazilian traveller Gabriel Buchmann, and his quixotic travels as he pursues a mission to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
When we meet headstrong but likeable Gabriel in Kenya, he is happy and self-sufficient, travelling responsibly and leaving nothing behind but solid friendships; he’s determined to live on no more than $2 a day. But not long after being joined by girlfriend Cristina in Malawi, a slow change creeps across Gabriel’s personality, and gradually he is led astray…
Rich and distinctive in its study of character and place, and bearing similar themes and emotional impact to Sean Penn’s Into The Wild, the film notably includes roles played by the people who actually met the real Gabriel Buchmann.
Spectacularly shot on location in a myriad of nations, Gabriel and the Mountain is ultimately a poignant reflection on travel, and asks whether a stranger in a foreign land can ever truly become a local. It’s an extraordinary hybrid of narrative and non-fiction.
