Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake

As Episode 1 of "Aftershock - Everest and the Nepal Earthquake" (2022 release from the UK; 3 episodes; total running time 149 minutes) opens, it is "Saturday, 25 April 2015, Mount Everest", as we see several climbers at the Kumba Icefall just before noon, and a devastating avalanche is descending Everest. We then go to "Three Days Earlier, Everest Base Camp", as we are introduced to several of the climbers... At this point we are less than 5 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this documentary mini-series is directed by Olly Lambert ("One Day In Gaza"). Here Lambert looks back to the truly awful events that happened in Nepal. Please note that the documentary is misleadingly titled. Yes, Everest is featured, but only in about one-third of the movie, Another third deals with how people in Nepal's poorly constructed capital Kathmandu deal with the events. And another third deals with how people in the LangTang valley and village deal with the events. But of course "Aftershock - Kathmadu and the Nepal Earthquake" or "Aftershock - The LangTang Valley and the Nepal Earthquake" doesn't have the same ring to it... Along the way, people that survived it all now tell their tale. "We acted out of survival instinct", comments one. The documentary includes both amazing and frankly frightening footage. I don't recall having seen Kathmandu in such vivid detail. And we also get not only the very good, but also the very ugly (cue: the 3 Israelis... what in the world were they thinking?). Last but not least, please do not confuse this documentary with a 2022 documentary from the US simply called "Aftershock".

"Aftershock - Everest and the Nepal Earthquake" recently premiered on Netflix. I binge-watched all 3 episodes last night, and these 2 1/2 hours just flew by. If you are in the mood to see the devastation of a poor country (which also happens to have Mount Everest) caused by a massive earthquake, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

The emotions, environment and the magnitude of the damage was well captured in the series. I remember hearing about the earthquake causing damage in Kathmandu but I also wondered what happened to the people climbing that season.

It's great to see that the photographers were capturing the images and people with cameras had their cameras on to capture the raw emotions. Throughout the series, I was engaged with the content produced in the documentary.

It is surprising to see how an entire village was erased in moments. Absolutely disgusted to see Israelis looting a village at such a sensitive time when money was of no value at the time, and to add salt on wound, they are justifying their act. What else could be expected of them. I guess this is their natural survival instinct. I am glad one selfish thought of getting himself rescued which eventually helped everybody.

The real interviews and footage are amazing. The reenactments, less so. It is very interesting from a human interaction perspective. It is also heartbreaking sometimes, as you might imagine. Ever since reading "Into Thin Air, I have always been fascinated AND repulsed by Everest climbs. For the most part, they are for people that just have enough money to add the climb to their "accomplishments," all at the expense of the brave and competent sherpas that eke out a living from what has become a tourist destination. It's absurd really. The Langtang village interviews are eye-opening, that people can find conflict even when they should be working together.

Whilst this is an interesting look at the events, I cannot help to notice how Western focused this is... Barry anything is mentioned on the 9000 who lost their lives.

Having to also listen to how the group of Israeli men justify their awful decisions made me truly sick.

I do wonder wonder what the director was thinking at times... Either tel one story or the other, so not shoe horn the tragedy of the locals with the climbers on the mountain. I really do not know what message was trying to be conveyed here, are we to show sympathy for some of the most selfish people I have seen on camera? We should be ashamed.

Parts seem to drag a bit but for the most part, it moves along at a good pace.

There's a lot of skipping between locations and going back and forth in time- stick to a timeline and move forward. If there's backstory needed, then tell that first before moving ahead.

It's fascinating what people will rationalize in the name of survival, and at some point, for some people, surviving took a back seat.

I'll not give away one of the underlying plots, but will say that from the moment Yaar starts telling his version, it feels manipulative, gross and selfish. There's absolutely no reason to do what was done, and leaving items exactly where you found them would have allowed their family members to find it. I can completely understand the drive to survive and to find necessities to carry on but to do what he did should make him ashamed.