In 2005 I lost my heart to the Himalayas and returned twice since.
‘The only son’ is an impressive and heartbreaking documentary over a Tibetan family in the Nepalese Himalayas. The documentary is depicting a stunning view of the scenery and their beautiful residents.
Pema, now 19 years old, lives the first four years of his life with his parent and five sisters in a remote town called Karang on the border of Tibet at an altitude of 4000 meters.
When Pema is four he gets sick and is taken to the hospital in Kathmandu. When his father brings him he has to walk for a month carrying Pema on his back crossing countless mountains passes.In Kathmandu Pema is taken into an orphanage where he lives for a couple of years. His parents visit him every year. Eventually Pema is adopted by a Dutch family.
Because of poverty and illness his parents were forced to give up five of their 6 infants. Today, the family is scattered around the globe, growing up in different cultures with different languages.
In this documentary Pema and his adopted sisters take a journey to Karang to visit their biological parents.
Since Pema is ‘the only son’ he is obligated to take care of his parents and the land, but he does not want to tend to the family home in the mountains. He wants to study abroad, and live a modern life. Guilt is throning him apart. Like he quotes ‘he is waiting for a miracle’. -Bregje-
The only Son by Simonka de Jong http://www.npo.nl/holland-doc/11-09-2013/VPWON_1193243
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