Better up there

Alexey, a former mountaineer whose career ended after an accident, returns to the mountains not to climb. He leads a group of teenagers from an orphanage on their first trek to the foot of Mount Elbrus. This is not about athletic conquest, but a slow, arduous journey where every step is an overcoming of personal fears and past hurts. The 2025 documentary drama turns intimate campfire conversations and silent contemplation of the peaks into a powerful study of human resilience. The director avoids pathos, showing how the mountains become a silent witness to the most sincere confessions and how fragile trust between a mentor and his charges is born in the harsh conditions of the wild.