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Hard to say - what was left on the editing floor but, it appeared to be from the Sherpa's perspective. One theme which rang through to me was the old 19th Century Master/Slave, Explorer/guide, Great White Warrior theme. And yes, during one of the down time cooling off talks one of the climbers did ask who "owned" the Sherpa who was making the trouble. I have never been over there but to me it seemed to be the Sherpa/Climber relationship has grown from the original 1953 Hillary climb where the climber's held the upper hand and the Sherpa's were subordinate - this film documents the reconsideration of that previous relationship. So it is a worthwhile documentary which I think all interested in climbing will enjoy. Now, personally for me, it's another crack in the wall of white supremacy, imperialism, whatever you want to call it. The hubris of these climbers who "brave Everest" when everything is prepared, lugged, cooked, constructed, behind the scenes by Sherpas is sickening. Their indignity at the Sherpas who dare have an opinion is amazing. Their insensitivity to local loss of life is embarrassing. Using the white supremacy term is serious so let me explain further. There is a movement in Congree to make the Buffalo our National Mammal. Ludicrous. We Europeans wiped out the Buffalo - some for sport some for tongues, and most tragically because we wanted to starve/force the Indians to the reservations so we could steal their land. One of the most noble civilizations ever along with the Buddhists and we wiped them out because we had our Manifest Destiny. What we are/were looking for could be found in the Indian way of life we destroyed. Ditto for chapter 2: the black man. We rape and slave them right out of Africa and act like it's their fault when they are "freed" and try to adapt to be 2nd class citizens. So we put a black on our money and make the Buffalo our national mammal - all fixed? Sorry for the rant but we treat the Sherpas with the same European contempt.

Well, here's my 2 cents: This is a visual 24 hour narrative of a "photographer" who takes LSD. He returns to "normal" at the end of the film when he hears the tennis ball. If the final camera shot had panned back to the tennis court I expect that the scene would be an upscale, posh tennis match going on with an attentive crowd watching i.e. normal tennis match and the mimes would be gone. The challenge for me has always been to pinpoint the exact time his trip starts. Antonioni would never be so blunt to show the internal Hemmings seeing colors etc like Peter Fonda tripping in his movies, he merely presents Hemmings traveling through his day and lets you ponder as to what you are seeing is from Hemmings perspective or actually happening. We see the manifestations of his trip: dialog full of double meanings, paranoia or need to see something more in his pictures, interaction with "strangers" that he appears to know but there is a thick black line between those who are aware of his state of mind and the general "non-cool public". Hard for me to explain in this space but this is what I see. My favorite scene is when Hemmings wanders into the park - the wind through the trees is so overpowering it feels like you are beside Hemmings both 100% per cent absorbed in the moment. Did Antonioni plan this or did he just take advantage of a fortuitous situation? I'd like to think he waited for the wind and favorable light. Just a great film which really captures the late 60's in a subtle way rather than slamming it in your face like Easy Rider.

I grew up in the 50's & 60's so this is what I call a comfort film. Aside from the plot, I get a kick from watching the morning scene of everyone waking up in the upper class 1960's suburbs, the office scenes, the morning commute, the after work cocktails, the clothes. Remember the business hat? Everyone wore one with their business suit until Jack Kennedy hit the scene bare-headed. Kind of like Clark Gable taking off his shirt and not wearing a T Shirt. I've always felt that the scene where Sam Bissell does the double-take on the car full of commuters next to his car and sees sheep was an innocent preview of the coming unrest of "The 60's". So while it's a great comedy with great actors/acting I watch it to take me back to a time when there was no globalization and no competition for the US. Everyone was making "good money" and there were no threats, no negativity. Several of the films from approximately 1958-1965 were like this - I've always felt the 60's officially began between that period after Kennedy was shot and the Beatles landed in NYC (which is the starter's gun). Certainly How To Murder Your Wife is a close second, YUM YUM Tree, some of Doris Day's movies, Ride The Wild Surf (best fiction Surfer Movie ever made). What a great time to grow up. So don't be a Nurdlinger - watch this movie. Hope this adds an enjoyable note when you watch this movie.