Documentary films aren’t always the most popular item when
it comes to choosing a movie to watch. Those at the box office rarely achieve
much notoriety with the exception of politically motivated films. But when I
began hearing about FREE SOLO it wasn’t about how bad it was doing but how good
the movie was. I heard Dana Perino on THE FIVE say it was one of the best
movies she’d ever seen and one of my friends in film making said it was
amazing. When it won the Oscar for best picture I decided maybe it would be
worth checking into. It was.
The movie focuses on a mountain climber by the name of Alex
Honnold whose claim to fame is as a free solo climber. If you’re not aware of
what that is, these are climbers that climb what appears to be mountains or
rock formations with apparent flat surfaces without the use of ropes,
harnesses or other protective equipment. It’s just a person with their own
natural abilities, their feet, hands and sometimes entire bodies climbing to
the peak.
Honnold is well known in the climbing
community but this film focuses on his greatest challenge to date, El Capitan
in Yosemite Park. El Capitan is a 3,200 foot vertical wall that Honnold has
climbed with the aid of equipment several times. Each of those times there were
moments when he fell. To climb without these aids seems like madness.
The film takes a look at everything that goes
into his story spending most of its 1 hour and 40 minute running time on that
with only the final portion of the film focusing on the actual climb. We learn
about Honnold’s past and his family. We learn what drives him. And we learn
about his personal life.
Most of the year he spends climbing, driving
from one location to another and living in a van. That’s the life that he has
chosen. His love life is composed of women he’s met in the past but as he says
in the film if he had to choose between a woman and climbing, climbing would
always come out on top. In spite of that he has a girlfriend as he is about to
prepare for the climb, Sanni McCandless.
Part of the movie tells us of how they met and her
acceptance of the career he has chosen. Yes, she knows he could die any day
that he chooses to climb, but she accepts that. Or does she? While a climber
and outdoor person herself, the stress of what he intends to do does take its
toll on the couple to the point she doesn’t stay for the moment he makes his attempt.
The film takes us into the making of the feature as it is
being shot. Directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Vasarhelyihas filmed other
climbs that Honnold has attempted documenting his abilities. This time around
we watch as the crew must deal not with the potential loss of their subject but
how to film the expedition as well. How will they overcome recording the sound
as he climbs being unable to place a regular microphone on him? How will they
get the shots they need of him climbing from all angles? Their solutions are
nearly as harrowing at times as his climb with the exception that they are
rigged.
Injuries nearly put Honnold on the wait list. If he misses
his opportunity it will be another year before he can make the attempt again.
He wonders if his personal life with Sanni will affect his ability to
concentrate as does she. He notes that until the two of them came together he
never suffered injuries and how he’s had more than one since being with her.
It’s just another stress item to carry with him as he climbs.
The pacing of the movie will be slow for those who are used
to car chases and shootouts when it comes to their movies. But the payoff is
well worth watching the entire film. Like a well-crafted puzzle the film takes
the pieces and puts them in proper order to understand and celebrate the
achievement that comes at the end. We learn about Honnold, we see how he gets
here, we watch him prepare, we learn about the film crew and their struggles,
we see his personal life and then we watch as he climbs attempting to make
history. It’s no spoiler to know the ending since had he failed headlines would
have proclaimed that far more than the success he achieved which is kind of
twisted to think about.
National Geographic is behind this film and their claim to
fame has always been the ability to capture on first photographs and late on
film the most amazing natural sights a person can imagine. This film is no
different presenting the most hair raising and stomach churning moments as
Honnold makes the climb. The Oscar the film received was well deserved. The
film played on the National Geographic channel but for those who don’t get that
it is available for purchase or rent right now. I would highly recommend this
film and to pay attention to it rather than having it just be on. Some will
find Honnold crazy and others inspiring. How you feel about him will be
determined only by watching the film.
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