Touching the Void tells the story of Simon and Joe; two mountain climbers whose trip to Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes ended in tragedy. I had never heard of either one of these men or their story before watching this film, but in the mountaineering world, they are the stuff of legend. I don't doubt that I'm not the only one to never have heard of them, so all in all, I think that this is a story that needs to be told. The story itself has all the ingredients of a successful human drama - it's gripping, exciting, realistic, continually intriguing, and overall it makes for a nice film. Carrying on with the recent trend that was kicked off with Bowling for Columbine, Touching the Void is filmed in a documentary style. This is definitely to the film's credit; the documentary style allows the auteur to tell a story and not have to worry about dramatics and so fourth. The documentary style is also detached in nature, so it allows the audience to make up their own mind about the events that they see on screen, and with a story as provocative as this one; that's what you want. The film is told from the men's points of view as well as seeing actors portray what happened on screen, and this allows the story to be effectively shown with an insight into their thoughts as well, which works a treat in my opinion.
The story is one of intense courage and decision making in a situation where every decision is a bad one. The major provocative point comes from the decision that Simon makes when he chooses to cut his partner (Joe) off, causing him to fall down a ravine. In my opinion, Simon did the right thing. The only other choice was to not cut him off, and get pulled down himself; so it's Simon and Joe, or just Joe. I don't even think there's a debate. What did get me about Simon's character, however, was his attitude towards his partner's injury. He's just seen him fall down and break his leg, and his first thought is that if he falls off the cliff, he'll be able to go down alone, which would be much easier than hoisting Joe down with him. I don't know about you, but that's not the sort of partner I would want on a high-risk mountaineering trip. Not only that; but he didn't even check on the well being of his friend in the morning after the fall; I realize that his chances of survival are unlikely, but I would expect him to still check because you never know. And then, just to top it off, on his way down the mountain; he's debating with himself whether or not to tell what really happened or just make something up! And just for a final shock; he didn't make a better story up! I found his lack of caring to be rather shocking.
The main story of the film, however, is not Simon's but Joe's; which is an absolutely amazing story of human courage. This man was not only extremely frightened as he was in the middle of nowhere on his own with no way to get help, but he also had to toil with a broken leg and extreme dehydration. The agony he must have been in is unimaginable, and yet he somehow managed to drag himself all the way down the mountain to safety. The man deserves a medal. The film allows the audience to stay with him throughout his ordeal; we really feel his pain and it makes the images on screen undoubtedly powerful. Had the film have been filmed in dramatics, without the documentary, it wouldn't have managed the same effect; and that is testament to the good decision to film it as a documentary. Despite the nature of the story, it also manages to be amusing at times, with Joe telling the audiences the thoughts of a doomed man, and a very surreal sequence involving Boney M. This story shows human courage like no other film I've ever seen, and what's more; it's all true and it all feels very real as well - it's almost like you're watching the actual events.
Overall, Touching the Void is an incredible cinematic experience. There isn't another film quite like this one and it really does have to be seen to be believed. Highly recommended viewing for all.
The story is one of intense courage and decision making in a situation where every decision is a bad one. The major provocative point comes from the decision that Simon makes when he chooses to cut his partner (Joe) off, causing him to fall down a ravine. In my opinion, Simon did the right thing. The only other choice was to not cut him off, and get pulled down himself; so it's Simon and Joe, or just Joe. I don't even think there's a debate. What did get me about Simon's character, however, was his attitude towards his partner's injury. He's just seen him fall down and break his leg, and his first thought is that if he falls off the cliff, he'll be able to go down alone, which would be much easier than hoisting Joe down with him. I don't know about you, but that's not the sort of partner I would want on a high-risk mountaineering trip. Not only that; but he didn't even check on the well being of his friend in the morning after the fall; I realize that his chances of survival are unlikely, but I would expect him to still check because you never know. And then, just to top it off, on his way down the mountain; he's debating with himself whether or not to tell what really happened or just make something up! And just for a final shock; he didn't make a better story up! I found his lack of caring to be rather shocking.
The main story of the film, however, is not Simon's but Joe's; which is an absolutely amazing story of human courage. This man was not only extremely frightened as he was in the middle of nowhere on his own with no way to get help, but he also had to toil with a broken leg and extreme dehydration. The agony he must have been in is unimaginable, and yet he somehow managed to drag himself all the way down the mountain to safety. The man deserves a medal. The film allows the audience to stay with him throughout his ordeal; we really feel his pain and it makes the images on screen undoubtedly powerful. Had the film have been filmed in dramatics, without the documentary, it wouldn't have managed the same effect; and that is testament to the good decision to film it as a documentary. Despite the nature of the story, it also manages to be amusing at times, with Joe telling the audiences the thoughts of a doomed man, and a very surreal sequence involving Boney M. This story shows human courage like no other film I've ever seen, and what's more; it's all true and it all feels very real as well - it's almost like you're watching the actual events.
Overall, Touching the Void is an incredible cinematic experience. There isn't another film quite like this one and it really does have to be seen to be believed. Highly recommended viewing for all.