TO HOLD A MOUNTAIN
(The 2026 Sundance Film Festival kicks off Thursday, January 22 and runs through Sunday, February 1 for, sadly the last time, in and around Park City, Utah. Check out Chris Reed’s To Hold a Mountain movie review, fresh from the fest. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
It can often seem as if ordinary folks are without the means to oppose government overreach. And yet, to quote the titular character in Alan Moore’s great mid-1980s graphic novel V for Vendetta: “People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” While nothing that quite approaches fear (on either side) occurs in To Hold a Mountain, a new documentary from Balkan filmmakers Petar Glomazic and Biljana Tutorov (When Pigs Come), there is popular resistance, and it works.
The place is Mt. Sinjajevina in Montenegro, where the middle-aged Gara lives with her teenage daughter, Nada. Their farmhouse is snug, in terms of size and warmth (of the human kind … temperature-wise, it’s pretty cold), and the small bed the two women share emphasizes both their close rapport and simplicity of living arrangements. Gara, especially, insists on speaking and hearing words of love; Nada is happy to oblige.
Two things about this apparent idyll: 1) it may not last, for reasons that will soon become clear; and 2) it is built on trauma and resilience, the details of which soon also find expression. For the first part, it is the Montenegrin government that threatens the peace, choosing to use the still relatively pristine local wilderness as a military training ground (featuring live ammunition). For the second part, Gara and Nada are each survivors of the same violence that both ruptured their world and brought them together.
Indeed, violence—particularly directed at women—is the constant background noise of the here and now, the past never far from the present. And yet it does not have to determine the future. With a strong resolve, Gara’s defining characteristic, it is possible to change the course of events.
The film benefits immensely not only from the abiding interest of the subject but from some gorgeous cinematography, courtesy of Eva Kraljević. The natural beauty of the mountain helps, as well. The most spectacular landscape on display, however, is that of Gara’s powerful and compassionate heart.
Glomazic and Tutorov have crafted an engaging modern-day fable that inspires the viewer with a vision of what we all can do to reclaim our freedom as citizens. Gather one’s community around you, show that you are not alone, and do not be afraid to shake your fist at would-be oppressors. Embarrass them with truth. It just might succeed, and no matter what happens, you’ll be able to hold you head up high. We all have much to learn from Gara.
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)
Post a Comment
