Touching The Void Movie Review:


Seriously blurring the line between documentary and dramatic filmmaking, this true story is absolutely gripping as the three men involved tell their story to camera, illustrated by a full-scale dramatic recreation with spectacular cinematography of one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world (but then I'm biased--I grew up in the Ecuadorian Andes!).

The tale is part of mountaineering lore: In May 1985 British climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates decided to tackle the "unclimbable" Siula Grande in Peru using the Alpine method of climbing--basically, two men with a rope between them. After struggling their way through merciless conditions they reach the summit triumphantly, but the descent is even trickier, and when Simpson breaks his leg high on the mountain they have some very, very difficult decisions to make.

This is an account of tenacity and survival beyond all reason. The fact that these men are still alive is a miracle itself, but the odyssey they go through makes truly amazing cinema! The film is narrated to camera by Simpson, Yates and Hawking (a hiker who walked with them to the base camp and then waited ... and waited); the drama is re-enacted with actors Mackey, Aaron and Ryall, as well as climbers Cuthbertson and Gregory, on location at Siula Grande and in the Alps.

The literally cliffhanging adventure is filmed brilliantly like a full-on action movie compete with special effects and up-close photography that puts us right there on the icy mountain with the climbers, as the firsthand commentary puts us into their minds. While Macdonald goes rather too far trying to create Simpson's delirium on screen (we get it already!), he directs the film beautifully, capturing the intricacies of the men's faces and of the Andes themselves. It's no mean feat to make a mountain range into one of the main characters in the story, but Macdonald does it, combined with Simpson's extremely vivid storytelling (the film is adapted from his eponymous book). And the cinematography is magnificently jaw-dropping!

It makes you hope there's an Imax version in the works. Not to mention a making-of doc about this film.

Rich Cline

May 1985, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates set out to climb the west face of the Siula Grande Mountain in the Peruvian Andes. The pair where experienced Alpine climbers but this was the first time they had adventured away from the European range and they discovered that climbing in the Andes was a totally different and more difficult experience. After a successful ascent, they realised that the decent would be a lot more arduous. Their conclusions were confirmed when Joe fell and shattered his knee, now Simon had to effectively lower his friend down the mountain. Disaster struck when Joe fell off an overhang of snow and Simon was left supporting the full weight of his friend. Simon had two choices, be pulled over the side and die with his friend or cut the rope.

Oscar winning director Kevin McDonald blurs the line between documentary and acted cinema with a story of human endurance that should inspire anyone.

Inventively, the director mixes a dramatic reconstruction of the actual events with footage and narration from the two men the story is based upon. As Simon Yates and Joe Simpson describe their ordeal to camera, we are shown the events unfolding before our eyes with two actors playing the climbers aged twenty-five. This works superbly, showcasing all the drama of the event and then cutting back to the reaction on one of the guy’s faces as he recounts those fateful five days.

The dramatic recreation is outstanding. The cinematography truly captures the splendour and sheer danger of the Siula Grande Mountain. One sweeping camera moment can show the beauty of an ice formation and then take you into the depths of what looks like a bottomless crevasse, with Joe perched tentatively on the edge of an overhang. You really do feel the desperation of the situation as the night draws in and the darkness starts to consume the icy cave. Brendan McKay and Nicolas Aaron do an excellent job in recreating what it must have been like to be in that terrible situation.

It is Joe Simpson and Simon Yates’s narration and moments to camera that truly get across what the two went through during that life changing experience. Both them tell their side of the story and the film doesn’t point the blame at either of them individually but does hammer home the importance of research and preparation before starting any climb. It could have been so easy for the filmmakers to paint Simon as the villain of the piece, as many of the climbing community have but through the dramatic recreation and Simon having the chance to tell his side of the story, you realise that he had no choice in what he did. McDonald lets them tell you what happening in their own words and the feelings that went along with those terrifying moments.

In mixing the two style of filmmaking, Kevin McDonald has proved again what an inventive and creative director he is. By using Joe Simpson’s book as inspiration, getting the two men to relive their ordeal for the camera and adding in the dramatic recreation, this is a piece of unique cinema. The story of human endurance under extreme, life-threatening danger is inspiring. It shows that the will to survive can be a very powerful driving force and Joe Simpson and Simon Yates’s story is proof of this.

Star Rating = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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