Checked out the 2018 documentary Free Solo which finally made its way to my local theater (and its faux IMAX screen). This is the documentary about the first guy to free climb (as in, with no ropes) the face of El Capitan a couple years ago. He might be crazy… but in all the admirable ways.
The film covers the climber, Alex Hannold, apparently very famous as a mountain climber… and earning enough from it to a life a comfortable life. It covers his history but also a little about his youth and why he turned out the way he did. He seems to be a little distanced from the usual emotions other hu-mans have. It covers his girlfriend who seems to be an odd experimental bit of mystery to him (he thinks it wouldn’t matter if he dies on a climb since she can just find another man). And it covers how much more important free climbing is to him than any friends, family… and girlfriend.
Also very interesting is that the film crew of the doc are part of the story. They are also mountain climbers who follow this guy around and are his friends. And they realize they will be filming his ascent up a mountain face while they will be geared up, carrying cameras, and will be the first to see him fall to his death if he makes even a single mistake. They ask reasonable questions like if it’s ethical at all or if the presence of cameras will make him more likely to take risks.
And risks he does take… the idea that it takes this guy three hours to climb 3000 feet without any safety equipment is a sight to behold. Spoiler alert: this isn’t a snuff film. He makes it and you gotta marvel at the tiny finger and toe holds he grips like some crazy billy goat on the side of a mountain. Or how he manages it with a smile and an apparent lack of sweat. They have a sequence where he gets an MRI that shows his amygdala doesn’t light up like normal people when stimulated. Nerves of steel… and crazy… in all the admirable ways.
I guess the only real problem with the film is that it takes 1hr 20min to get to the real climb which takes about fifteen minutes of screen time. They do make up that time with a lot of interesting facts about less successful free climbers (which means dead free climbers), his history, the film crew, and other things mentioned already. It’s not boring and there’s enough shots of climbing WITH safety gear that’s harrowing enough… but I did eventually want them to hurry up and get to the title of the movie, already!
So, yeah, a good documentary even if you have no interest in mountain climbing and think the breed of people are mad. It’s an interesting examination of a person who doesn’t seem to be on the same plane of reality as the rest of us. Someone who demand physical and actual perfection in what he has chosen to do in his life (because anything less means death). Overall a really interesting documentary about a sport and lifestyle I know nothing about. And that’s the best kind of documentary.
Score: 84