One Mile Above: A Feature-Length Film About Bicycle Touring To The Highest Point In Tibet
Feb
I just watched the most wonderful movie… and I’d like to take a moment to tell you all about it.
The film is called “One Mile Above” and it is the story of a young, 24-year-old Taiwanese man named Shuhao who, after his brother dies in an accident, takes it upon himself to cycle from Taiwan to the highest point in Tibet, and complete the bicycle touring journey his brother had always dreamed of taking while he was alive.
Along the way, Shuhao not only learns how to ride a bicycle, but encounters a whole host of challenging obstacles along the way – such as freezing cold weather, steep mountain terrain, ferocious wild animals, and an accident on a high mountain pass that leaves him and his cycling partner literally hanging on for the lives.
Shot in Chinese, but shown with English subtitles, “One Mile Above” is a short (90 minute), beautiful-written story about brotherly love, courage, determination and personal growth. With the best cinematography I have ever seen in any cycling film and several heartwarming scenes that touch on the true beauty of exploring the world by bike, “One Mile Above” is a film I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone with a passion for bicycle travel.
While the acting in the film is a little over the top in some scenes, and the cycling is made to look much harder than I know it to be, the film does a great job of capturing the emotion of what it’s like to be on the road by yourself, traveling by bike, meeting strangers in a foreign land and having to deal with the many obstacles that come with such an endeavor.
More than anything, “One Mile Above” is a film that makes you realize that for so many people who go on bicycle touring adventures each year, there is much more to their journeys than just a trip by bike. Reaching one’s destination is often just surface level, while the true meaning behind any particular bicycle ride is frequently much deeper than it appears.
Watch this film! I promise you won’t regret it!
“One Mile Above” is available for purchase at Amazon.com and a few other online retailers.
Thank you for recommending this! Wow! Others should know that it can be rented on Amazon instant video for under $5 if one doesn’t want to purchase a DVD.