Free SoloBeautifully shot documentary that does well to set up the technicality and structure of the rope-less (free) solo climb of El Capitan by Alex Honnold, helping one appreciate more the build up and gripping footage captured during the 3000ft ascent.
It was interesting hearing him read his climbing notes journal. Micro details of limb placements and strong emphasis on certain key parts to change or repeat for the next attempt, all spoken in his casual, highly unperturbed manner. They took an MRI of his brain and found he has no fear response to their tests, which seems hardly surprising given what he's had to come to grips with during climbs.
There was a touching yet unsentimental moment where he told the crew he didn't want them around him during some particularly dangerous sections as he'd feel badly if they had to witness a friend die in front of them should the worst occur. For those sections they placed unmanned cameras and also filmed using insanely powerful telephoto lenses. A few could barely look in the monitors during certain moments.
The film periodically cuts back and forth with the relationship to his recent girlfriend, who kept reminding me of Ellen Page and Haley Joel Osment. Honnold states at one point she's one of the best things to have happened to him yet she's presented as having been a fairly significant liability in regard to his climbing and focus and essentially admits to having the desire to tone down his ambitions. Seems there's a continual eagerness on her part for more normality while Honnold is shown still rather content as the wild-ish loner. It's a curious coupling.
His feelings on the climb were apparently he'd be making the ascent whether it was ultimately filmed or not. Brought to my mind the documentary
Man on Wire where Philippe Petit, the tightrope walker who crossed the Twin Towers in the 70s sans safety wires, reflected on a similarly personal motivation and commented he felt at the time the act was a kind of poetic expression; one man contrasted with the sheer magnitude of such structures.
Blows my mind that by the time it takes me to brew a cup of tea he'd scaled 200-300ft with his bare hands
And in the average time between posts on The Bore he'd ascended El Capitan
