Touching the Void - Movie review

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Touching the Void - Movie review

a great look at human will to survive

2008-04-08, 13:42 #1

Member since Sep 2007 · 130 posts · Location: Canberra
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Subject: Touching the Void - Movie review

Touching the Void is a true story movie about a pair of mountain climbers.

[Image: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/153/423429~Touching-the-Void-Posters.jpg]

[Image: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/153/423429~Touching-the-Void-Posters.jpg]

Joe Simpson and his friend Simon Yates attempt to climb the western face of a mountain in Peru. As you may guess the climb doesn't go as smoothly as they would have liked, and facing the results of a terrible accident the pair are forced to make tough choices in order to survive. The story involves an amazing show of human endurance, and just what length people can go to in order to survive. Even in the harshest of environments.

[Image: http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/06/25/430_void2605,0.jpg]

[Image: http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/06/25/430_void2605,0.jpg]

The filming is fantastic. It mixes footage of the pair on the mountain, with interviews. All of it narrated by the people involved, and not by a third person. This was a fantastic technique I thought, which really allowed you to connect with the people.

[Image: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/images/issue/420/touching-the-void_420.jpg]

[Image: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/images/issue/420/touching-the-void_420.jpg]

It's one of my long time favourite films. There is also a book about it, which goes into greater detail than the movie does. It's a great watch/read, and I'd reccomend people check it out.

[Image: http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/214366.jpg]

[Image: http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/214366.jpg]

This post was edited on 2008-04-08, 14:02 by Heffer.

(Administrator) 2008-04-08, 14:36 #2

Member since May 2011 · 2201 posts · Location: Brisbane
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I saw this movie at random on TV one night. I loved it.

You're right, it's a fantastic story, and it illustrates how much abuse one man can take and still live. That his friends waited so long at the base was truly astonishing, and the circumstances under which they were reunited are incredible.

Quote by Wikipedia:
Some members of the climbing community feel that Yates was mistaken to cut the rope, and that he should have held on as long as he could to give Simpson every chance to work out a solution to his predicament. Joe Simpson himself has never voiced anything other than complete support for Simon Yates' action.

This could not have been an easy decision to make, though I've no doubt it was the right one. I hope I never have to make a similar one.

BLEARGH

(Administrator) 2009-02-01, 13:02 #3

Member since May 2011 · 2201 posts · Location: Brisbane
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So the other day a sort of sequel to this was on TV. Joe Simpson, the guy who fell and spent days dragging his shattered leg across the mountain's approach in the movie above, narrated and appeared in a movie about a fatal attempt to climb the Eiger (Ogre) in the Alps.

It was an incredible story with amazing visuals, and I very much enjoyed it. A quote from the UK newspaper, The Independant:

The documentary, to be broadcast this month, is the true story of four twenty-something climbers – Toni Kurz, Andreas Hinterstoisser, Edi Ranier and Willy Angerer – who attempted to climb the notorious North Face of the Eiger in 1936. They began their ascent via an access shaft from a railway tunnel that ran halfway up the mountain, but before long, tragedy struck. Angerer received a head injury from a rock fall, and after bravely attempting to continue their journey, the team were forced to abort as their colleague's condition worsened. Then an avalanche left them stranded on the side of the mountain. But unlike Touching the Void, this distinctly chilling story does not have a happy ending. All eventually perished. Kurz was the last to die, spending a frostbitten night within feet of rescuers before signing off with the line: "Ich kann nicht mehr" (I cannot go on).

The trailer is here.