EDITION 03:

The Eight Mountains Film Analysis

Exploring Family Dynamics in Film

What you will find in this issue

1. Charlotte’s analysis of the movie

2. Lucie’s analysis of the set design

3. More recommendations of films exploring family dynamics

4. Link to our past posts

Disclaimer: In order to avoid major spoilers our newsletter does not elaborate on the ending of the films or plot twists. If you would like an analysis of the movie in its entirety, you are more than welcome to reach out to us.

From Charlotte: a film analysis

Intro

Le Otto Montagne (Charlotte Vandermeersch, Felix van Groeningen, 2022) is an Italian film unfolding the friendship between Pietro’s point of view, a city-dweller that spends his summer in the small Italian village of Grana, and Bruno, the only child living in this hamlet, from their childhood until their adult life. Pietro eventually stops going there as he cuts off with his family to pursue his dreams and find himself, loosing contact with Bruno on the fly. Their paths cross again after Pietro’s father’s death, Giovanni. Bruno reaches out to Pietro to let him know his father’s wish as he spent all these years in close contact with Pietro’s parents. The latter desired to build a house, named Brama Drola, a home far from the world. They proceed to build it together, reviving their bond. On the process, Pietro will eventually find himself, whilst his relationship with Bruno will keep evolving.

The Family Dynamics In Le Otto Montagne

This film provides an in depth study of different family dynamics. They are predominantly following the concept of the number three, echoing to the birth-life-death cycle. The first one is composed of Pietro, Francesca (Pietro’s mother) and Giovanni. Francesca is a calm, composed, loving and reassuring figure that we briefly get the chance to meet. This trio eventually collapses as Pietro swears to his father and himself he is never going to be and live as the latter.

The second one is Pietro, Giovanni (Pietro’s father) and the mountains. This love triangle begins during Pietro’s childhood as they used to go on hikes together. These were the times his father was happier and kinder. On one of their walks, a scene shows Giovanni crouching in front of a cross, forshadowing his death.

Then, there is Pietro, Giovanni and Bruno. Giovanni is a complex character that is deeply unhappy and aggressive in the city, that metamorphoses himself when he is in the mountains and hikes. As Pietro claims himself in the film, he realises he in fact had two fathers.

Whilst Pietro is away, Bruno, Giovanni and Francesca form a group we can identify without seeing them work together. As Bruno’s father is absent, we can understand that he is looking for a substitute of a father figure. Later, another trio can be identified: Bruno, Lara (Bruno’s girlfriend) and Pietro.

New families emerge throughout the film such as Bruno’s as he makes a child with Lara, Anita. Their love story ends in a breakup, leading him not to be present for his daughter, repeating the pattern of his own father’s absence. As for Pietro, he will create his own by moving to Nepal, exploring a new mountain and getting into a relationship with Asmi, a local that does the same job as Pietro’s mother.

Like the eight mountains, Pietro explores all of them to eventually find his center. Represented by the colour red that will follow him throughout the whole of the film on his father’s map for hikes, he embodies the red string of self discovery. Bruno is always wearing dull clothes, notifying us of an opposite dynamic as he stays in his main mountain to end up alone, after he’s been cast aside by every other trios of the mountains. Towards the end, when Bruno is probably at his lowest, one can get a glimpse of his attempt to retrieve a feeling only childhood can provide by calling Pietro “Berio” as he used to, years ago.

Echoing to other films such as Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005) and Close (Lukas Dhont, 2022), this film is a complex and rich piece of art, exploring relationships between loved ones and within one self. The visuals are jaw dropping, the camera work and framing is not to be overlooked. Watching this comes back to taking a real and pure deep breath of fresh air, rooting us back to what’s essential. Unfortunately, the female characters and their importance is very poorly represented and not explored enough, making it a real bromance without passing the Bechdel Test.

From Lucie: a set design study

Intro

Towards the end of the movie, Pietro declares: “It was my mother who kept us mutually informed. She was used to living amongst silent men”. Throughout the movie, all of the three main characters are unable to communicate at times, which imposes the question: how does set design help understand these mute men? With most of the movie being filmed in the mountains, one could think that there is a lack of set design, but I personally believe that isn’t true. Indeed, I think that set design as well as the use of certain props helps the viewer deepen their understanding of three main relationships: the men and the mountain, Pietro and his dad as well as their relationship with themselves.

Exploring the relationship between the men and the mountain through set design

Firstly, we will study how set design was a tool for Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch to explore the relationship between the men and the mountain. To do this, we will progress according to the timeline of the movie. The first tool that is used right from the beginning is light. Indeed, when you are first introduced to Pietro’s house in the mountains, it is extremely dark, which is rapidly juxtaposed to the sunlight flooding the outside world. This immediately creates a sense that this house isn’t where you should spend your day. It’s a house only for sleep. Later, on the other hand, we are shown the house of Bruno’s uncle, the inside out house. I call it like this because the only thing in this house is cheese. In the garden, you see the boys walking past chairs, tables, as if the house had been thrown up on the garden. This tells us how differently Bruno lives on the mountain. He is there all the time. They eat outside, contrary to Pietro’s family, and their house is only a tool for work, to house the cheese. As if they don’t even need a house, as if they would rather stay in the outside world.

To continue, set design is later used to show the growing distance that is being created between Pietro and Grana. Indeed, the first time we are shown him as a teenager, he is laying on the bunk bed which doesn’t fit him anymore, which he has outgrown. This signifies the start of a shift, of distance that will be created in the future with the village as he feels that he doesn’t fit in in this world anymore. Much later, when Pietro first comes back to Grana after his father’s passing, we see him drive in the Alpha Romeo that his dad passed in. This testifies that this journey, rather than just being a simple expedition, is actually the start of an emotional journey to attempt and repair the relationship between Pietro and his father. There, the mountain is shown almost as a sacred place, a healing environment.

As the story line progresses, we see the two boys finally go back to lake Grenon. The first time they went, it was shown as a place of magic, a place that brings the boys back together. However this time they get to the lake from above which makes it appear so much smaller. Pietro even declares that he remembered this lake to be much larger in his memory. This signifies the shift between experiencing the mountain as a child and as an adult. It’s the moment that he realises he cannot go back and it won’t ever be the same again. He has to build a new relationship with the mountain. Lastly, the protagonist is gradually shown as belonging to the Alps. Indeed, when he goes back to Turin after finishing the build of Brama Drola, we see him in his flat, then in the kitchen of the restaurant, and finally in a bar. Each time, the windows get smaller and the spaces more claustrophobic. In his flat he has a rectangular window next to his desk, then in the kitchen a tiny square opening, and lastly the bar which seems to be underground.

Exploring the relationship between Pietro and his father through set design

Secondly, we will be looking at how set design helps deepen the viewer’s understanding of the relationship between Pietro and his father. When in the mountains they are always shown being together, back in Turin they seem almost estranged, isolated. His dad is shown for the first time working in his office which is directly juxtaposed by the image of Pietro in his room, in front of all of his toys yet bored. It’s also interesting that this is the only time we see him with toys, as if the mountain is actually a better distraction for children.

Later, we see them have a very intense dispute, signifying the shift in their relationship. It takes place in their kitchen in Turin where we can observe that the blinds are partly down. As his father declared earlier, “every season of light needed to be followed by a dark one”. Maybe this is the start of the season of darkness, with the blinds casting the shade that will make their bond rot with time, showing how obstructed by anger their words are, how clogged their communication is. After his death, Pietro seems to try and find ways to get closer to his father, trying to find connections. As mentioned earlier, he already does that by driving the Alpha Romeo.

Then, we see him for the first time sitting on the balcony, a space where we saw his father teach him about maps. Later, he and his mother will both sit there while reminiscing about him, both trying to feel closer. Lastly, the location of the Brama directly links back to Giovanni’s love for glaciers. Indeed the house sits under one, reminding us of the moment Pietro told us: “The glacier fascinated the scientist in my father. It reminded him of his studies in chemistry and physics, the mythology by which he was formed”. In some way you could say that with the location of this house his father is always looking over “both his sons”.

Exploring character development through set design

To finish off, we will study how set design hints at the ever changing relationship the characters have with themselves. It all starts right at the beginning, with Pietro presenting himself as an only child, sleeping in a bunk bed. We can, since the very start of the movie, feel the absence of a sibling, an absence which will later be filled by Bruno. Gionvanni’s map is the one recurring and potentially most important symbol in the entire movie. It’s really a map of relationships, showing the distance that Pietro took from that world. It’s also the map that will allow him to find peace, allow him to find his true self and his way back to his dad. It was forgotten during an entire part of the movie, only to be shown again once he comes back to Grana, demonstrating how he is more aware of others now, how he’s able to acknowledge. It’s a symbol of personal growth.

To continue, the set of the mountain trails are used to show growth as well. Indeed, the first time the two young boys meet, you see them run off into the mountain together. Later, you see Pietro run with his father. Then, much after, once they have started the construction of Brama, finally at peace, Pietro goes on his first hike alone and runs on the trail. He finally has created his own relationships with the Alps, he is finally at peace and has found his sense of belonging. As Charlotte mentioned earlier in her text, there is the recurring colour of red that you see Pietro wear, more specifically, a red hat. At one point, as he’s saying he wants to re-invent himself, he puts down that hat on the tree he planted.

As the story progresses, you see him put on and off that hat, wearing it in Nepal and even letting small children wear it. It’s a symbol of his drive to find himself, which he manages to accomplish in the end. Lastly, after both men get into a fight at Brama, a fight that started with Pietro finally telling Bruno what he thinks of his actions, you see him sleeping surrounded by books. There, the books represent Bruno’s attempt at finding his words. They also represent his frustration at not being able to express himself, demonstrating the growing gap between himself and Pietro who has found his and is now writing his own books. 

More films about family

All available on Prime Video, click on the image if you want to find out more.

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