The Highest Pass

I just watched this film on KQED in the SF Bay Area. Sorry, but I was disappointed on two levels. First, I thought the "Manifest Destiny" attitude of Anand speeding through roads full of unsuspecting travelers (including children) was irresponsible. (Didn't one of the other riders say as much?) … Second, the film ended before the riders reached their destination. Was it a temple of sorts like Borobudur in Java? Was the reason for the journey just to say they rode the highest pass? … Also, a few of other riders seemed intimidated and/or bullied by Anand's will to press on. The scenic road was breathtaking for sure, but my perception of the human agenda was disconcerting. … These are my beliefs, so please don't discount how I feel with a snarky response.

I am a huge fan of Paul Greene and I was so excited when I saw this film on Amazon Prime Video!!! I've been wanting to see this for a long time. The highest pass is a thrilling adventure of self discovery. How far can you push yourself and what you can learn about yourself in that process. My favorite line can from Paul, "I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was...and a lot more capable of overcoming and not turning back." Wow, such a profound discovery about ones self after pushing endlessly to achieve this amazing feat. It inspires me to be more adventurous in my own life! What this group did was dangerous and mesmerizing, I was glued to the screen, hanging off the edge of my seat the entire time. This is a must watch, I feel so inspired!

I was blown away watching the trailers that preceded this extraordinary documentary.

Coming attractions included Bill Wilson who was advertised as being one of the most significant people in the twentieth century. This was followed by a personal interview of him talking about the unquenchable thirst that never goes away.

The next scene was the documentary "The Highest Pass" and the rich patina of India's landscape.

The motorcyclists' journey to the top of the Himalayas evoked images of Dante's Inferno or the seven story mountain experience which was a divine comedy of purgatory before entering Heaven.

I was struck by the genuine transparency of the riders and the ability to be vulnerable and receptive to being filmed while riding to the top.

The riders seemed like artists helping the audience to see anew the people, the places and even the self that you have been sleepwalking past your whole life.

I left feeling renewed and refreshed. Well done!

A nice little documentary about a group of seemingly normal people taking on a task that is anything but normal. The start is a bit slow as the background is given for the characters and the stage is set for the actual journey. Once the journey begins though the movie is exactly what you would expect of it. Breathtaking back drops and some harrowing moments as the riders take to the roads of Northern India. What sets this apart from just being another adventure documentary however is the relationship each rider has with their teacher and guru Anand. This ultra modern Guru who messages on his I-phone while riding a bike turns this adventure into an inward look at what is holding us back from making our lives truly incredible. This movie has much more of a sense that it is average people with average skills than do other motorcycle adventures like 'Long Way Down' and 'Long Way Around' I thought this was a well shot and well told story of people taking on a trip that will change their lives.

I thought the movie itself overall was great, but i do have a serious preference to adventure/road trip movies so take that with a grain of salt.

The movie is at its best showing genuine human nature in today's times... Fear, challenges, temptations to quit, preserverance, accomplishment, and all along the way self-reflection and growth. It was a very nice and very real journey to watch that wasn't completely Holywooded to death.

The only issue i had with the movie was that Anand didn't sell the sincerity of his role to me. He just seemed like an intelligent yet very careless thrill-seeker that unconsciously unconsciously leveraged his very real spirituality to motivate others to support his cause in order to bolster his own spirit, but sadly he also uses this same mystic spiritual nature as a reason/excuse to expose his team to excessive risks and dangers and it just didn't pass any smell test. This kinda made the core of his character a bit less mature as he was selling himself as. That said Anand's thrill seeking spirit was the single thing that pushed the team harder than they would have went on their own and in the end each team member grew in a unique and personal way because of the excessive risks and challenges they overcame. I felt they all looked at Anand as a quite young spiritualist but the team was wise enough to see basic traits and components of Anand's spirituality and character that they wanted to incorporate into who they were and so they did.

Kinda into Royal Enfield motorcycles after this movie. Oh and i really enjoyed the soundtrack all done by one artist it looks like... never the less I'm going to try to get some of those tracks in my playlist.