Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, Lucy Walker's inspiring film, after a short run in select US cinemas, has made its Toronto Internal Film Festival 2023 After its debut, the film appeared on Netflix, one of the best streaming services The Oscar-nominated filmmaker's latest project landed on Wednesday, July 31, and spotlights a remarkable figure: Lhakpa Sherpa

is a Nepalese mountaineer who became the first woman to summit Mount Everest Incredibly, she has summited the world's tallest mountain a total of more than 10 times (so far), more than any other woman on the planet Walker's feature-length documentary follows Lakpa Sherpa as she returns to Nepal for her 10th summit in May 2022

Along the way, we learn about all the other challenges Lakpa has faced in her life Walker skillfully weaves Lakpa's history into breathtaking landscape shots, but it is her subjects that make "Mountain Queen" so compelling Both her cinematography and the woman at the center of this extraordinary story are awe-inspiring

More about the famous documentary film and what critics have to say about this new arrival (spoiler alert: it's quite favorable)

"Mountain Queen: The Ascent of Lhakpa Sherpa" is an inspiring film about the life of Lhakpa Sherpa, the first woman to conquer the highest peak in the world Denied education and work as a child in Nepal because of her gender, she immigrated to the United States at the age of 28 There, she survived intimate partner violence, and continued her love of the great outdoors while raising her two daughters, Sunny and Shiny, as a single mother in Connecticut

The official synopsis reads: "The first Nepalese woman to summit Everest and survive, Lhakpa Sherpa dedicated her life to inspiring and empowering girls Now a single mother working at Whole Foods in Connecticut, she embarks on a dramatic return to the mountain, determined to reclaim her purpose in life and inspire her own daughters

Lucy Walker told Tudum about why she wanted to tell Lakpa's story: "Lakpa is an amazing and phenomenal woman and her story is larger than life I love interweaving the tops of her life with the tops of her climbing career She is a phenomenal climber and I wanted to bring a female character to a big-budget sports movie for a change

"And I wanted to do it with a Sherpa woman It's really great that this Everest climb is Lakpa and her Sherpa climbing party, but they are not working for Western tourists These women themselves are the stars of the show So I wanted to talk not only about this thrilling Everest climb that I'm going to do with her, but also about the incredible life she has led"

As already mentioned, Lucy Walker's doc currently has a 100% perfect score on the comprehensive critics' website Rotten Tomatoes Admittedly, this score is not from the largest sample size - as of this writing, only 10 reviews have yet been recorded - but some of the reviews recorded so far are very favorable about "Queen of the Mountains"

The Hollywood Reporter's Caryn James claimed that Walker and her team had "crafted a story that sucks," adding: "Mountain Queen: The summits of Lhakpa Sherpa includes dazzling footage of Lhakpa on Everest But the real point here is the life of this charming, unassuming, and fiercely determined woman

Carlos Aguilar, writing in Variety, called the film a "poignant and heartbreaking documentary" and argued that "Mountain Queen" goes beyond "simple victory supremacy" by capturing "a clear facet" of Lakpa

Finally, in a three-star review in The Guardian, Leslie Felperin writes

"A portrait of the title subject, Lhakpa Sherpa, the only woman to have summited Everest 10 times, is chock-full of uplifting moments, and at times feels like an emotional climb, but there are great views to be had on the climb"

Looking for more Netflix recommendations? Check out our roundup of the best Netflix documentaries and best Netflix movies