Downton Abbey: A New Era film review
A second big-screen helping of Julian Fellowes’ drama
This ravishingly beautiful film follows wildlife photographer Vincent Munier and travel writer Sylvain Tesson as they comb Tibet in search of the elusive snow leopard, said Kevin Maher in The Times. In “thrillingly immediate footage”, we see the pair come across bears, foxes, falcons and bharals (aka blue sheep) while engaging in “deeply serious debates” about “the nature of looking and being and the hopelessness of humanity”. All this is set to a “soulful, plaintive score” by Warren Ellis and Nick Cave. The film sits “somewhere between David Attenborough and Samuel Beckett” – our two protagonists are “endlessly waiting”; but their patience and the viewer’s pays off when the film’s star, the camera-shy leopard, “eventually makes an appearance”.
The Velvet Queen was originally intended for television, said Brian Viner in the Daily Mail, but it was considered “so cinematic” it was given a big-screen release. Television’s loss is cinema’s gain, as the photography here is “truly breathtaking”. I saw it at the end of a long day and was snapped out of my weariness by the “incredibly powerful image” of a “lone snow leopard, sleek and elegant, standing on a mountain ledge, considering its options and looking anything but vulnerable”.
The film certainly looks extraordinary, said Wendy Ide in The Observer, but I could have done without the “highly ornamental narration”. For Tesson, the search for the leopard is a “profoundly spiritual” experience (“Prehistory wept,” he says at one point, “and each tear was a yak.”). But if you can handle the voice-over, I challenge you “not to be moved” by this film, which captures the “stark drama” of Tibet, and the “magnificent indifference of the natural world”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventure
Feature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream' and 'Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television'
Feature Private equity and the man who created 'I Love Lucy' get their close-ups
-
Can Texas redistricting save the US House for the GOP?
Today's Big Question Trump pushes a 'ruthless' new plan, but it could backfire
-
Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventure
Feature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream' and 'Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television'
Feature Private equity and the man who created 'I Love Lucy' get their close-ups
-
Lemon and courgette carbonara recipe
The Week Recommends Zingy and fresh, this pasta is a summer treat
-
Oasis reunited: definitely maybe a triumph
Talking Point The reunion of a band with 'the power of Led Zeppelin' and 'the swagger of the Rolling Stones'
-
Properties of the week: grand rural residences
The Week Recommends Featuring homes in Wiltshire, Devon, and East Sussex
-
Kiefer / Van Gogh: a 'remarkable double act'
The Week Recommends Visit this 'heroic' and 'absurd' exhibition at the Royal Academy until 26 October
-
Mark Billingham shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The novelist and actor shares works by Mark Lewisohn, John Connolly and Gillian Flynn
-
Heads of State: 'a perfect summer movie'
The Week Recommends John Cena and Idris Elba have odd-couple chemistry as the US president and British prime minister