Touching the Void

My son and I came out of the theater exhausted just by watching this quasi-documentary reenactment of the 1985 ascent up an unclimbed route on the Siula Grande glacier in Peru. The film's impact is heightened by the excellent cutting between the actor/climbers and Simon Yates and Joe Simpson, who recall their actions, reactions, and feelings nearly 20 years later. Disaster strikes on the descent, where -as one of them notes -"80 percent of accidents happen." After Simpson breaks his leg in a fall, Yates -against impossible odds -continues to try and get him down. Finally, Simpson falls again, off the edge of the mountain. After hours of hanging on to what feels like dead weight, Yates cuts the rope to prevent himself from being gradually pulled into the void. Simpson's survival and return to base camp is nothing short of miraculous, suggesting that man is never more tenacious about life than when he is closest to losing it. Though far different in its circumstances, his story rivals that of Shackleton and the Endurance in Antartica three quarters of a century before. An underlying issue, addressed briefly in the film, is whether Yates should have cut the rope. Apparently some other climbers criticized him for doing so, but Simpson always defended his action. I have no idea how well the technical aspects of Touching the Void are done, but to this mostly earthboard amateur, they looked brilliantly and truly shot. Danger and beauty are scarcely separable in Touching the Void. When you are not immersed in the terror of Yates' and, especially, Simpson's plight, the frigid beauty of the glacier, the colors within its crevasses are glorious. A story of recklessness and great determination, superbly told, filled with many "how did they ever shoot that?" moments, Touching the Void must be seen.

I've seen countless movies over the years but I don't think I've ever been moved in quite the same way that I was watching Touching the Void. I first saw Touching the Void in a small art-house theater in Chicago, the experience was closer to going to church than going to the movies. The entire theater was dead quiet throughout the film but you could feel the tension throughout the room. After it was over I felt like I had been holding my breath for an hour and a half incredible when you consider that, this being a documentary, I more or less knew how it was going to end and others I talked to in the theater expressed the same feelings. I wasn't sure if anything would be lost in the transfer to DVD, it wasn't. Not only was the story just as gripping on the small screen but the extra features made a perfect movie-going experience even better. People marching off to see I, Robot or whatever other dreck Hollywood throws at us have no idea what they're missing in this masterpiece.

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This film, based upon the international best seller of the same name, recounts an amazing tale of courage, fortitude, and the will to live, despite dire circumstances. About twenty or so years ago, British mountaineers Joe Simpson and his then climbing partner, Simon Yates, attempted to ascend a perilous section of the Peruvian Andes, Suila Grande, a majestic 21,000 foot peak that was nearly inaccessible. These two intrepid climbers tackled the mountain alpine style and, surprisingly, reached the summit, the first mountaineers to do so.

After reaching the summit, however, tragedy struck on their descent, when Joe, up over 19,000 feet, fell and hit a slope at the base of a cliff, breaking his right leg and rupturing his right knee. Beneath him was a seemingly endless fall to the bottom. When Simon reached him, they both knew that the chances for getting Joe off the mountain were virtually non-existent. Yet, Simon Yates fashioned a daring plan to do just that. For the next few hours, they worked in tandem through a snowstorm, and managed a risky, yet effective, way of trying to lower Joe down the mountain.

Several thousand feet down, Joe, who was roped to Simon, dropped off an edge and found himself now free hanging in space, about six feet away from an ice wall, unable to reach it with his axe. The edge was over hung above him and the dark outline of a yawning crevasse lay directly below him. Joe could not get up, and Simon could not get down. In fact, Joe's weight began to pull Simon off the mountain. So, Simon was finally forced to do the only thing he could do under the circumstances. He cut the rope, believing that he was consigning his friend to certain death. Therein lies the tale. It is at this point in the film that the real story begins.

What happens next is sure to make one believe in miracles. This is an absorbing, beautifully shot film. The story is told in a sort of unique docu-drama style, with actors re-enacting moments in this fantastic, true life tale of survival, while Joe Simpson and Simon Yates narrate what happened on that mountain. It is an absorbing piece of cinema, as it presents a somewhat novel and fresh way of telling this amazing survival story. The cinematography is magnificent, as the film is shot in the Peruvian Andes, where the incident occurred. Moreover, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates do the actual climbing scenes in the film. All armchair climbers will thrill to the sound of their crampons and axes digging into the ice. My only suggestion is that one read the book before viewing the film.

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Climbers have always felt there was no need for the embarassing antics displayed in absurd films like Vertical Limit, MI-2, and Cliffhanger to get across the at-once dangerous and beautiful aspects of their sport. In fact, it was believed that a truly talented director could convey those things quite well through a little creativity rather than resorting to nitro-glycerine and cheesey free-soloing scenes to add suspense. So it was with great anticipation and a bit of skepticism that the release of this movie retelling the classic story of Joe Simpson's epic in the Andes was anticipated. No one was let down. This is a brilliantly done film, at the original scene, with the real climbers doing much of the legwork. The climbing scenes are shot with authenticity, and even the actors portraying the climbers did a good job. The horrible situation Simpson finds himself in and his deteriorating physical and mental condition are palpable and nerve-wracking. The feeling of desperation and hopelessness reaches the same heights achieved in the book, as does the anxiety and anguish of Simon (his partner). This is a classic film rendering of a classic book. This is one movie you must see; who knows if another climbing story will ever be done as well. And whether you're a climber or not, you will be just as close to the edge of your seat, all without the insulting Hollywood silliness.

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"Touching the Void" was also the name of the book that Joe Simpson wrote about the events shown in this astonishing movie. In 1985 Simon Yates and Joe went on one of those "we're going to do something that has never been done" kind of Mountain Climbs up a previously unconquered approach up Siula Grande in the Andes.

My wife told me that the film wasn't at all what she was expecting, so it is perhaps worth describing the format of the film. A small film crew, a couple of actors and Joe and Simon themselves returned to Siula Grande in 2002. Richard Hawking, who maintained the base camp at the foot of Siula Grande while Joe and Simon went off on their death-defying climb, comes along as well and seems to have one of the most balanced viewpoints among the original three members. The movie intercuts interviews with Joe and Simon and Richard with footage shot for this movie with actors portraying them. The shots of the Andes and glaciers and icy crevaces are spectacular outdoor photography. The present day Joe, Simon and Richard tell an absolutely spell-binding story of heroism and perseverence and bravery.

Well before the end of the movie I found myself wondering how in the world Simon ever made it off that mountain, and he had by far the easier time of it. Joe's survival is one of the most incredible stories of human endurance you'll ever hear. Seeing that both Joe and Simon made it to the making of this movie removes some of the tension of "oh my goodness! will they make it!" but knowing the ultimate outcome doesn't relieve the edge-of-your-seat-white-knuckle tension of hearing this incredible story.

As a bonus there is additional footage of "what happens next" plus a mini-documentary on the making of the movie. The movie essentially ends with Joe and Simon and Richard reunited at base camp. You KNOW that both climbers need urgent medical attention and Simon will require surgery for his shattered leg and the "what happens next" fills in some of those blanks.

The behind-the-scenes documentary gives you an idea of why the story depicted in the movie ends where it does. Simon comes under criticism from the climbing community when Joe and Richard are staunch supporters of his actions on the mountain. Joe returns to the mountain and memories he has suppressed for 15 years come flooding painfully back and he withdraws from the remainder of the crew. There is an emotional detachment in both men that seems odd to those of us in the audience but none of us have descended from the top of Siula Grande. They both experienced horrors that can't really be imagined even with the assistance of this movie. They have mentally walled off the events of 1985 into a place they don't allow others to and it seems obvious they don't want to go there either.

The "special features" complete the story, and don't diminish the magnitude of the bravery, perseverence, etc seen in the movie. Recommended for those who want to see what humans pushed to the edge can do. My hat is off to Joe and Simon and Richard as well it is plain that Richard was crucial to the survival of the other two.

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