Pushing His Limits: Abe Hiroshi Climbs "Everest: The Gods' Mountain Ridge"

By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network Editorial Team
 
The movie "Everest: The Gods' Mountain Ridge," starring Abe Hiroshi—who won Japan’s Academy Award for Best Actor for "Thermae Romae"—and fellow award-winning actor Junichi Okada, is set to hit theaters on June 17th. This film is adapted from the "most satisfying" masterpiece by best-selling Japanese author Baku Yumemakura. The production crew filmed on location in the Himalayas, taking on life-threatening challenges during over a month of shooting in Nepal. Abe Hiroshi, now in his fifties and playing the legendary mountaineer Umiyama Joji, shared his feelings about taking on the role, saying his first thought was: “This is an incredible project!”

"Everest: The Gods' Mountain Ridge" tells the story of mountain photographer Makoto Fukamachi (played by Junichi Okada), who embarks on a lifelong dream to climb Everest with his fellow mountaineers. However, not only does the expedition fail, but one of his teammates dies on the mountain. Losing his sense of purpose and unwilling to face reality back in Japan, he drifts aimlessly in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

One day, he stumbles upon an old camera and immediately recognizes it as possibly belonging to the famous British mountaineer George Mallory, who disappeared on Everest decades ago. He begins to suspect that Mallory may have actually reached the summit. Together with the enigmatic climber Josh, he embarks on a new expedition to uncover the truth. As they move deeper into the Himalayas, they gradually get drawn into a greater mystery...

[Info]
"Everest: The Gods' Mountain Ridge"

Genre: Adventure, Inspirational
Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes
Director: Hideyuki Hirayama
Cast: Junichi Okada, Abe Hiroshi, Miki Nakatani, Shunsuke Kazama
Distributor: Tema Xingkong
Release Date: 2016-06-17
 

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