Touching
the Void (****)
review by Jon
Waterman
This documentary tells the amazing story of Simon Yates and
Joe Simpson. In 1985, they climbed up the Siula Grande (located
in the Peruvian region of the Andes), something that no one
else had previously accomplished. They climbed nearly four
miles straight up with little unforeseen difficulty. The hard
part was getting back down. Everything that could go wrong
does. A nasty fall leaves Joe with a severely broken leg. Several
times, Simon is faced with the unbearable decision to leave
Joe to die and carry on alone (which may certainly mean death
for himself if climbing without a partner), or to stay together
and hope for a miracle.
Kevin Macdonald (“One
Day in September”) directed
this amazing tale with subtle brilliance. When you hear the
word “reenactment,” I bet the first thing that
pops in the mind is some cheesy forensic files show on cable
or an “Unsolved Mysteries” type of situation. Yeah,
me too. But I swear this time, it’s actually really really
good. So good that it left me mesmerized enough to not be able
to form grammatically accurate sentences to describe it. Step
by step, the story plays out on screen with actors playing
the roles of Joe and Simon as the real Joe and Simon tells
us all about what’s going on. Sound repetitive? Well
it’s not. Think of it as reading a book in class along
with the teacher – except the story is actually interesting.
You get to see the whole thing transpire in front of your
eyes. It’s an amazing blend of documentary style storytelling
and gripping narrative visuals. Without the added punch you
get from seeing these events, the story would be astonishing,
but not nearly as harrowing or as exhilarating. The scenes
are recreated with precise detail by cinematographers Mike
Eley and Keith Partridge. You get lost in that landscape and
that recreation to the point where it feels like you’re
watching the events actually unfold (instead of them being
copied).
The film deals with some tough issues along the way, ones
that most people would never have to face. When talking about
such things, Simon and Joe are sincere, analytical and blunt.
That says more about their character than any of the actions
taken during that ordeal. Neither of them are monsters. Neither
of them are heroes. They are climbers and they did what needed
to be done. This is easily one of the best documentaries to
come along in a while. The story is magnificently engrossing,
and you’ll be glued to your seat until the end. I’m
ready to watch it again.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
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