Mountain Queen- the Summits of Lakpa Sherpa was released on Netflix on July 31, 2024. Just one week after its release, the movie is already a big talk among the international community, with over a million views on Netflix. It’s been rated 7.7 out of 10 reviews in IMBb.
The film was first released at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2023. Right after the premiere, Netflix acquired its distribution right, and now it’s been trending for a week. The trailer was released on YouTube 1 month before its debut on Netflix and already has 231,336 views.
Further, the trailer was displayed in New York Times Square, the largest billboard ad in the US for over two weeks. The film itself has been released on 190 countries in a single day. It is also claimed to be the first movie that was released with Nepali subtitles.
Prior to the release, Lakpa Sherpa wrote on her social media, “I’m thrilled to share my life story and teach my mountaineering skills to younger people. All I have ever wanted to do is encourage women to achieve their dreams.”
What is seen in the film?
The movie begins on the premises of a Lakpa working 9 hours a day at Whole Foods Chain and raising her two daughters, Sunny and Shiny, in West Hartford, Connecticut. Then, the story folds up to show her beginning of life and struggle right from birth in the tiny village of Khumbu. Lakpa started the journey to the mountains as a porter, but her life turned around when the Government of Nepal sent a team of female climbers to Everest under Lakpa’s leadership.
That was her first world record, becoming the “First female to climb Mount Everest and survive”. After that, she met George, her American (originally from Romania) husband. The couple climbed Everest together five times until 2006.
Then the story turned around when a strong Mountain Beast, George, turned into a physically and mentally abusive Husband. From 2006 to 2016, she gave up climbing totally, focused on raising her daughters and living a trapped life in the USA. There was a time when Lakpa, with her two children, were rescued by American Police, and she fought a court case for custody and won the battle. After that, Lakpa managed to provide her children with a good life while also living her dream of climbing Everest. The later part of the story was a success story when she climbed Everest four more times.
The story comes to an end when Lakpa climbs Everest for the 10th time, and her younger daughter meets her at the Everest Base camp.
Will this movie change Lakpa’s life?
Lakpa’s daughter said in the documentary, “My mother believes that her climbing Everest will make things better for us. But I don’t know how much change that might bring.”
In 2000, when Lakpa became the first female to climb Everest and come back alive, she was celebrated throughout Nepal for some time. However, Lakpa’s financial and social struggles continued for a long time. Even with a five-world record, she was just a mom working at Whole Foods, Connecticut, for a long time. Things started to get better only after 2016 when she had outgrown the difficulties of her personal life and got back to Everest for her 7th climb. That was the same year when Lakpa was listed as one of BBC’s 100 Women. But few such awards did not stop her real-life crisis.
Things took quite a big turn for her family after Lucy Walker decided to direct a documentary based on her life. And with Netflix acquiring its rights, it’s been a big financial relief for this family. Hopefully, Lakpa can now think beyond 9 hours of work at Whole Foods and focus on her dreams.
When will we talk about our heroes?
Women like Lakpa Sherpa are not just a treasure of a single country but the whole world. They are the inspirations to billions of females who have been trapped in their social limitations. Yet, Nepal, the country where Lakpa belongs, has nothing to offer her.
Only her first climb was funded by the Nepal government, and she has not received any other assistance from the government. No long-term funding, no substantial award, no aid for her children, and no initiative to make Lakpa’s life easy. Her achievement makes headlines in news media for a few days, and when the fire is out, Lakpa is back to her own life, scrapping for a little.
We have lost yet another treasure in the nation, and she now lives in the USA. From Tenzing Norway Sherpa living in India to Lakpa being an American Citizen, we have been losing countless Mountain heroes.
How many heroes do we need to sacrifice before we realise the value and recognition they bring to our country?
