The earth is so dry in the Himalayan Mountains that local monks paint trees based only on the descriptions they’ve heard from others. Life is so tenuous that villagers rely on the annual caravan through the mountains to trade their local product, salt, for food to last them the year. In this brutal world there are only two things that can ensure survival: a trusted chief and the will of the gods.

Timle, the star of Caravan (French title: Himalaya- l’enfance d’un che), and one of the toughest men ever put on film, is such a leader. Well past his prime, he has to decide who will take over his command when his son dies while bringing salt across the land. Everyone in the village knows that the headstrong Karma is the man for the job, but old family feuds run deep, and Timle does not trust him.

When it is time for the caravan to cross over the mountains Karma takes the young men without the consent of Timle, and four days before the lamas have designated. Proud to the end, the aged leader sets off with his own rag-tag group on the appointed day. Among those under his command are his elderly friends who have not made the journey in years, his fatherless grandson of seven or eight, his other son who has lived in a Buddhist monetary since childhood, and his daughter-in-law.

Like an aging boxer who refuses to accept the deterioration of his body, Timle ignores the scoffs of those around him and forces his way along the stunning mountain passes that he has grown to love. Yet for all of his stubbornness, he seems well aware that his time has passed. Instead of clinging to power, he wants to usher in a new era of leadership. Men like this do not talk tough—they are tough. His determination in the face of physical hardship, a brutal snow storm, and constant peril is infectious, and slowly his clan remembers why he became leader in the first place.

Caravan is about the changing of the guard, but also maintaining of traditions. Those who challenge the gods and ignore thousands of years of history learn that arrogance comes from inexperience. In a place where a glass bottle is the only hint of modernity, ritual and inherited knowledge are everything.

Grudgingly Karma learns this lesson and begins to understand his complicated relationship with Timle. As more than one person points out, friction does not come from their differences, but rather their similarities. Buddhism and reincarnation rule this land, and you can see the old man’s spirit began to move into the next generation’s leaders—but not without a fight.

Belgian filmmaker Eric Valli has gone to one the most isolated and traditional places in the world to make a masterpiece that captures the beauty of the Himalayas and the human desire to survive. Caravan does not only present Timle as a tough and hardened chief, but also makes you understand how he became that way, and realize that he is only one in a long line of succession. When you respect the gods of the mountains they will watch over and protect you, and in the end, Timle’s tribe is at their mercy. CE