Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I think it's way too easy to get carried away by the exoticism of a place, culture/ people and time.check another review on the film on this site: http://worldfilm.about.com/library/weekly/aa022001a.htmcopy paste from the review:International cinema lets you glimpse other worlds stranger than any science fiction movie can imagine and look at societies completely alien to our own. But films from elsewhere also often tell strange stories in surprising ways because film-making and storytelling follow different conventions. Himalaya shows the proud and beautiful people of Nepal in their natural habitat - but it doesn't let its heroes tell their own stories. The result is as pretty to look at, as instructive, and as emotionally uninvolving as a coffee table book.

"Himalaya" is about as exotic as films get. Using indigenous people in a remote and harsh corner of Nepal (Dolpa), an adventurous French director (Valli) created a film about a superstitious and aging tribal chief who leads a caravan of Yaks through hazardous Himalayan reaches to trade salt for the grain required to sustain his people. The film is interesting inasmuch as it uses native nonactors in an extremely remote region of great beauty which is seldom seen up close and personal. The result, however, is not great drama and the scenics, though beautiful, are less breathtaking than I had expected. In fact, I found the "The Making Of..." featurette on board the DVD more interesting than the film itself. Considering the low entertainment yield of this ambitious project, it would probably have worked better as a documentary or travelogue. Nonetheless, this exotic-for-the-sake-of-exotica film should be much appreciated by those into films about foreign cultures or with a special interest in the Nepali. (B)

This film captured me from the opening moments. Visually stunning because of the locale, still it is the characters that pull you in. Even if you do not normally watch foreign films, try this one. I promise you will be both entertained and carried away.

The Himalayas are the highest mountain range in the world, and people living the hard life in the mountain villages are steeped in tradition, still living the way that their ancestors have for hundreds of years, surviving by collecting the abundant salt and trading it for grain and other necessary supplies for surviving the long winter. Himalaya focuses on the village of Dolpo in a troubled time; the village chief has died whilst on a salt caravan and the community allegiances are split, as the chief's father, Tinle, wishes old tradition to be upheld and for his grandson, Passang, to take the position of chief, the younger generation of the village wish to be lead by the arrogant and able Karma. The village salt caravan is split, with the older villagers following Tinle and traditional methods, and the younger following Karma and his youthful strength, Passang is torn between the love of his grandfather and the need for a father figure like Karma and through the following of the salt caravan we see their relationships developing and changing.Himalaya is entirely shot on location in Nepal, and although it seems that it's hard not to make a beautiful film in such an inspiring part of the planet, Himalaya is visually incredible, really giving a sense of enormity of the mountains and the rugged nature of the terrain and the people. One of the most memorable scenes of recent cinema takes place as the caravan travels along a tiny crumbling trail high above a lake, crisp, sharp textures and vibrant colours draw you in and give immense feeling to the scene, piqued by the sense of danger as they slowly work their way along.Excellent cinematography and direction, assisted by a great soundtrack, have lead to an essentially unmissable film, one of the best and most engaging movies about the region, truly an epic journey.It also features lots of hairy yaks, it's yak-tastic.