Review: In ‘The Mountain,’ a quietly driven climber searches for something higher

In 1923, when asked why he wanted to scale Mt. Everest, British climber George Mallory famously answered, “Because it’s there.” That existential response might also help explain the life-altering choice by a Parisian robotics engineer to ascend the mighty peaks of the French Alps in “The Mountain,” a curiously compelling look at one man’s quiet obsession. Pierre, played by the film’s director, Thomas Salvador, is a seemingly solitary soul attending a work conference near Chamonix, a picturesque resort town at the base of soaring Mont Blanc. But the vast and eerie remoteness of his sky-high locale, plus Pierre’s plan to reach a melting mountaintop glacier, suggests the story may veer into action-survival territory à la such films as “Wild,” “Into the Wild” or last year’s Naomi Watts drama “Infinite Storm.” But “The Mountain” is far more elliptical than that. Louise Bourgoin in the movie “The Mountain.” Pierre’s relationship with Léa, an increasingly friendly local chef he meets along the way, is one of the picture’s few concessions to a more traditional story.