Nepal has seen significant changes over the past several decades as this isolated region of the Himalayas gains access to the wider world for the first time. Director Roger Charret's Nepal: The Roads of Progress explores the ways the now 12,000 miles of roads in Nepal have altered the country's literal and cultural landscape. He tracks the impact on villages and cities throughout the country from the 1980s until shortly after the devastating earthquake of 2015.
While the documentary offers an interesting insight into the modernization of Nepal, its structure is somewhat unfocused. Charret grounds his content by personalizing the issue, exploring daily life for Nepalese residents. Some of the local activities, festivals, and ceremonies (beware a graphic scene of animal slaughter) he captures on camera are well-woven into the narrative, but others feel out of place without a strong connection to the overarching story.
The crux of the film is not only the changes roads have brought to Nepal, but what those changes mean on a larger scale. Charret details the various benefits of having roads, such as healthcare access and easier transportation of goods and services. Although the roads have negative side effects as well like higher pollution rates and traffic concerns, the positives outweigh the negatives for most Nepalese residents.
Charret presents the primary divide as being between the locals and tourists: the locals have gained access to vital resources while the tourists have lost their illusion of an untouched Himalayan world. Strangely, this central idea is not explicitly stated until the final minutes of the documentary.
The lack of a consistently focused narrative detracts from the entertainment factor, but Nepal: The Roads of Progress could be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about this fascinating region of the world at a unique point in its development. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P.