Released: January 23rd, 2004
Rated: R
Studio: Universal
Starring: Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron, Ollie
Ryall, Joe Simpson, Simon Yates, Richard Hawking
Directed by: Kevin Macdonald
Written by: David Darlow
Personal Bias Alert: have
read the book, fascinated by mountain climbing
8.5 of 10
The
current news coming out of Nepal makes this seem like a perfect time to talk
about a mountaineering film. For those
of you who don’t know, the single deadliest day on Mount Everest occurred on April
18th of this year. An
avalanche killed 16 Nepalese guides and injured 9 others. The guides are now on strike, sighting low
pay and dangerous working conditions, essentially shutting down the entire
climbing season on Everest. That’s a
massive amount of money lost considering a summit attempt costs at minimum
$30,000 per climber. That’s $30,000 for the opportunity to stand
on the tallest spot in the world, and $30,000 for the opportunity to join the
over 250 people who have died on the mountain.
There’s something crazy about that, to risk so much to attain one fleeting
thing. It’s a craziness that I think
pervades all of mountaineering and certainly plays a large part in “Touching
the Void.”
The
documentary tells the story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, two young British
climbers who, in 1985, successfully climbed the west face of Siula Grande in
Peru. This feat had never been done
before, but the climb was even more complicated than they had anticipated. Exhaustion and lack of water plagued the men
when, on the way down, Joe fell and broke his leg. Unable to climb down the mountain on his own,
Simon was left as the only person who could get Joe to safety. A valiant effort was made to get him down,
but eventually Joe was left to either save himself or die.
The
format of the film is a mixture of talking-head documentary, with Joe, Simon,
and camp-watcher Richard Hawking telling their stories, and reenactments by
actors. The reenactments add some great
visuals, really getting across the scope of the situations the men were in in a
way the talking heads couldn’t do. The
greatness of this film, though, lies in the unfalteringly honest way that the
three tell their story. They explain why
they made the decisions they made, even when it shows a callousness or weakness
they aren’t particularly proud of. This
prevents the film from falling into the trappings of a sappy inspirational
film, which it easily could have been.
In
case you hadn’t gathered, Joe does make it down the mountain. This isn’t a spoiler given that Joe is there
talking you through the events, but the film never needs the added tension of a
will he or won’t he live scenario. It plays
almost like a horror film, where a series of increasingly desperate situations force
the characters to make more and more difficult decisions. It’s easy for the viewer to imagine
themselves in these situations and to wonder if they are capable of doing the
things Joe does. I doubt many people
are. He’s rather, pardon my pun, cold,
unforgiving, and determined to make it out alive.
Mountaineering
is a dangerous sport, and many people may rightly point out that Joe and Simon
put themselves in this situation willingly.
This may lessen the effect for some viewers, but that never bothered me. I’m oddly fascinated by mountain climbing,
and the fact that Joe recognized that he was in danger of dying while pursuing
a wholly personal goal makes his motivations all the more interesting.
It’s
a tough story, which at times seem to go on forever. I’m sure it seemed that way for all involved,
but it does at times make the film seem a bit bloated. Richard’s contributions add very little to
the story, and too long is spent watching Joe stumble over rocks. The repetition of Joe’s pain eventually numbs
the viewer to it, at least until the next trial starts up.
This
isn’t a fun story. It’s not an
inspirational story. It’s not a man triumphing
over nature story. It’s a hypnotically realistic
look at what caused one man to push himself to the brink of death in order to
live, and the tremendous amount of luck it also took for him to make it out
alive.
Other Notes:
Ø Based
on the book “Touching the Void,” written by Joe himself.
Ø Some
of the shots of the two men climbing the mountain are actually Joe and
Simon. They returned to the mountain for
the shooting of this film.
Ø Director
Kevin Macdonald is a very prolific director, working in both documentaries and
in scripted films. Some of his other
films include “One Day in September” and “The Last King of Scotland.”
Ø “I
thought I would be tougher than that.”
~Joe Simpson.
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