Touching the Void

Plot synopsis:
Simpson and Yates reach the summit of the previously unclimbed West Face of Siula Grande. Upon descent, Simpson slipped down an ice cliff and landed awkwardly, crushing his tibia into his knee joint, thus breaking his right leg. The pair, whose trip had already taken longer than they intended due to bad weather on the ascent, had run out of fuel for their stove and could not melt ice or snow for drinking water. With bad weather closing in and daylight fading, they needed to descend quickly to the glacier, about 3,000 feet below.
Yates proceeded to lower Simpson off the North Ridge by tying two 150-foot lengths of rope together to make one 300-foot rope. However, because the two ropes were tied together, the knot couldn't go through the belay plate. Simpson would have to stand on his good (left) leg to give Yates enough slack to unclip the rope, in order to thread the rope back through the lowering device with the knot on the other side. With storm conditions worsening and darkness upon them, Yates inadvertently lowered Simpson off a cliff. Because Yates was sitting higher up the mountain, he could not see nor hear Simpson; he could only feel that Simpson had all his weight on the rope. Simpson attempted to ascend the rope using a Prusik knot. However, because his hands were badly frostbitten, he was unable to tie the knots properly and accidentally dropped one of the cords required to ascend the rope.
The pair were stuck in a very bad situation. Simpson could not climb up the rope, Yates could not pull him back up, the cliff was too high for Simpson to be lowered down, and they could not communicate. They remained in this position for some time, until it was obvious to Yates that the snow around his belay seat was about to give out. Because the pair were tied together, they would both be pulled to their deaths. Yates had to make the hard decision to cut the rope in order to save his own life. Doing so may very well have also saved Simpson's life, as he would have died of exposure if he had been left to hang in the strong freezing wind for much longer.
When Yates cut the rope, Simpson plummeted down the cliff and into a deep crevasse. Exhausted and suffering from hypothermia, Yates dug himself a snow cave to wait out the storm. The next day, Yates carried on descending the mountain by himself. When he reached the crevasse he realized the situation that Simpson had been in and what had happened when he cut the rope. After calling for Simpson and hearing no reply, Yates made the assumption that Simpson had died and so continued down the mountain alone.
Simpson, however, was still alive. He had survived the 150-foot fall despite his broken leg and had landed on a small ledge inside the crevasse. When Simpson regained consciousness, he discovered that the rope had been cut and realized that Yates would presume that he was dead. He therefore had to save himself. It was impossible for Simpson to climb up to the entrance of the crevasse (because of the overhanging ice and his broken leg). Therefore, his only choice was to lower himself deeper into the crevasse and hope that there was another way out. After lowering himself, Simpson found another small entrance and climbed back onto the glacier via a steep snow slope.
From there, Simpson spent three days without food and with almost no water, crawling and hopping five miles back to their base camp. This involved navigating the glacier (which was scattered with more crevasses) and the moraines below. Exhausted and almost completely delirious, he reached base camp only a few hours before Yates intended to leave the base camp and return to civilization.
Simpson's survival is widely regarded by mountaineers as amongst the most amazing pieces of mountaineering lore.

Tags: suspenseful, boring

Review:
The dramatised scenes though, are still wonderful, it is very easy to forget that this was not somehow filmed at the time, not only do they look very, very real but they also look spectacular; when Joe talks about the imposing crevice he was in, the pictures on screen did much better at translating that into visuals than my non-mountaineering imagination could have done.The two actors in the roles of Joe and Simon do a great job; like I said, it is very easy to forget they are actors or that this is a replay for the camera.
However the talking heads bit never even touches the surface of what Simon had to go through after they all got home - in a way that would have been just as interesting a part of the film as what Joe went through.As the story unfolds it is impossible not to sit shaking your head in amazement.
This film describes the true story of a climbing accident in South America in 1985, using dramatisation with voice-overs and interview excerpts from the three British men who were actually involved.
It may sound boring, but I cannot stress this enough: this film is much more tense, and nail-bitingly gripping, than any Hollywood action movie - because you know that everything you're seeing and hearing really did happen to these guys.The story itself is incredible.
There are exceptions, but mountaineering movies fall roughly into two classes; overblown, unrealistic cliffhanging (in more than one sense) dramas ('Eiger Sanction', 'K2', 'Cliffhanger', 'Vertical Limit') and rather trite descriptive documentaries often seen as padding for the 'National Geographic' channel schedules, although Jon Krakaur's 'Into Thin Air' managed to combine the worst of both worlds.
The actual principals, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, and Richard Hawkins the non-climber base camp minder, narrate their story as it is re-enacted, partly at the original site in Peru (though some filming was done in the European Alps), while actors (with very few lines to say) re-enact the saga of the Siula West Face climb.
My disbelief was entirely suspended.Even documentaries are stories rather than fact (whatever that is) and this story is superbly told, for which director Kevin Macdonald can take full credit, though perhaps one should also thank Simon Yates and Joe Simpson for telling us their stories.
Watching the story unfold just by seeing the events on film is exciting, but when you're hearing Joe and Simon narrating their thoughts on the actual events at the same time, you can't help but feel genuine terror and concern for them.
A hybrid of talking heads and re-enactments this movie is one of the best films (on mountain climbing) ever made.
But a funny thing happened on my way to review heaven, and that funny thing included the newly DVD released true story of two mountain climbers in peril in film Touching the Void.Based on the true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, Touching the Void takes us on an adventure of endurance and the struggle for survival of two young British climbers in the 1980's that attempt to reach the summit of the Siula Grande in Peru.
Directed in a documentary style using the real Joe Simpson and Simon Yates as narrators to actors recreating their ordeal, Touching the Void follows the journey of one man trying to save another from inevitable death only to eventually cut him loose when reality supplants hope.
Now separated, Simon deals with his demons of leaving a friend to die while the very much alive in spirit, Joe, struggles for days on end with a broken leg to crawl and climb over treacherous terrain to reunite with hopefully still-in-tact base camp.
As the film is narrated by two of the three participants in the story, is comes as no surprise that Joe survived his weeklong struggle.
When Joe falls into a crevice that would be undeniable death for even a seasoned climber, we are left with a sense of claustrophobia and loneliness that is hard for even the most seasoned of directors to capture.The DVD comes with extras that include a short of Joe and Simon reuniting 17 years later to go back to the mountain to relive the experience for the film crew, that is just as honest as the feature presentation.
The two actual climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, narrate the story, while two stand-in actors re-enact the climbing.A big part of the film is Joe's quest merely to survive, once he becomes separated from Simon.
The camera also captures visual perspective, by backing away from the two climbers, or Joe alone in the second half, to reveal how small and insignificant they are against the towering mountain face, or lost within the vast expanse of a huge glacier, peppered with a maze of dangerous crevasses.The story is certainly harrowing.
Joe as much as admits it: "We didn't give a damn about anyone else or anything else, and we just wanted to climb the world ..." This kind of cavalier attitude is not uncommon among participants in extreme sports, many of whom participate less for the adventure than for the opportunity to set records and make money."Touching The Void" is a great story of survival set amid the majestic splendor of the mountains of Peru.
This cruel attitude doesn't extend to the protagonists of TOUCHING THE VOID Joe Simpson and Simon Yates since they are very professional in their attitude but the over riding thought while watching this was - Why ?
You've seen this happen in movies like THE EIGER SANCTION and VERTICAL LIMIT where someone falls from the rock face taking their companion to their death which always leads me to ask " Why do climbers attach ropes to themselves if that's the case ?
Do they still go drinking together or climb mountains as a two part team ?Not to be too negative the docu-drama format is undoubtedly the best medium to tell this type of story , if it'd been filmed as a feature film we'd have had to put up with a couple of Hollywood hunks acting all tough and macho and spending large parts of the movie without any dialogue to explain what was going on .
"Touching the Void" could easily air on the Discovery Channel, cause it's more like a re-enactment of the real events than the ordinary movie, with the made up characters to dramatize.Said that, don't be fooled: this history doesn't need any script writers to make it interesting.
It stands alone.Follow the two English climbers to the Andes and you will get a life lesson and an entertaining movie for the price of one, when Simon has to cut off the rope of his still very much alive fellow climber to a hopeless fall, only to find he survived..
It has been debated whether the appearance of Joe and Simon as narrators ruins the suspense somewhat, but my personal opinion is that it only adds to the whole experience - their remarks are witty on some occasions, bloodcurdling on others, and what better way of binding the public to the characters than having them recount a part of the story in person?Filmed in the authentic settings, with excellent camera work and a quite innovative approach to documentary movie-making, "Touching the Void" will have you transfixed for the entire 106 minutes of its length, climbers and non-climbers alike..
The reenactments are superb; beautifully shot and dynamically performed.The film also places a question in the mind of the viewer regarding Simon Yates' decision to cut the rope attached to Simpson to avoid being dragged over down the mountain himself.
as the excitement built up i realised i like Joe was frozen still, unable to move i felt his pain and the moment when he has the song in his head just gets right in your head as well and you start to feel sick as well.I've never been as moved by a film as i have with touching the void with the exception of Schindler's List.
'Touching the Void' has chosen the right approach to tell the true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates.
That they both survive is clear from the beginning since they are telling their own story, looking straight into the camera, the way people explain things in a documentary.
If it was all documentary with explaining and maybe showing the mountain from the time to time it would be a great story but boring to watch.Honestly, the movie had more suspense than most horror movies today.
Based on the book of the same name by mountaineer Joe Simpson, the film both recounts and recreates the harrowing true story of Simpson and climbing partner Simon Yates' 1985 ascent of the sheer face of an Andean mountain.
Told in a docudrama style, the film captures both the majesty and terror of the mountains along with the real emotional and physical experiences of the climbers themselves.
Occasionally the film cuts back to the real people, documentary style, but for the most part, it's acted out.Two young climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, decide to climb Siula Grande, a previously unclimbed peak in the Peruvian Andes.
Both Joe Simpson and Simon Yates came out alive and the documentary is based on the book by the same name by Joe.Joe comes across as an amazing man fighting a battle between life and death and calling up every reserve of energy that he could muster.
The format of this movie shows actors re-enacting the scenes (very well done and quite thrillingly filmed in the Alps) intermixed with interviews of Joe and Simon plus the caretaker at base camp.I'm not a mountaineering fan and watching this didn't make me want to ever attempt mountaineering!
Simpsons epic efforts to get off the mountain and to be with someone is awe inspiring and to hear it told from the horses mouth is fascinating.I enjoyed the film so much that I have since read 4 of Joe Simpsons books.
All the way through this documentary I was in wonder at how Joe Simpson would manage to survive his incredible ordeal and come to recall his story so vividly.
Reproducing the story with actors was an excellent way to break up the interviews with a visual image of the two climbers ordeal, and the idea of not letting it all be the actors on the mountain helped keep the reality of the situation.I would advise anyone to watch this documentary, whether they were interested in climbing or not.
I found this film, the story of two mountain climbers, to be a powerful tale about the strength of the human spirit and one man's will to survive.
Touching the Void would have to be the best mountaineering documentary I've seen, the documentaries that were shown last year on the 50th anniversary of the Everest summit climb were good but don't hold a candle to this in terms of recreating a story, plus against-all-odds stories of survival are always the most interesting.
Firstly because the true protagonists of the real story are the ones telling it and secondly because I don't think that Joe Simpson would allow, let alone participate, in a movie that would not be true to the facts or tried to overdo any emotional aspects of the story.It is a brilliantly filmed movie, almost like a documentary but not quite.
During the movie i somehow didn't know how to react to what happened on screen, the two "stand in" actors does an amazing job, giving the story even more realism, and it also makes it easier for us viewers to relate to it, but the real strength of the story is the passionate way Simon and Joe guides us through the story, it is absolutely fantastic listening to the voice-overs, sorta commenting and explaning over the pictures, which are being held together by a lot of creative moves and stunning cinematography.Somehow i don't know how to explain what i felt and thought during this movie, it feels a bit undescribable, but the movie really portrayed raw pain so raw as it could have been in my opinion, i remember at first thinking the movie was moving way to fast considering the runtime of it, but as it got on i started to realize that the main thing the movie wanted to focus on was how Joe survived his struggle through the mountains, alone, with a broken leg.
And that is indeed amazing.Another thing that is a great strength of this movie, is the great directing, the directing is top notch, that can't be denied, the usage of pictures and sounds are so well done and thought through you are forced to love it, especially there is a sequence with a Boney M song, i'm sure everybody that has seen this movie/docu will remember that scene for a long time, Joe explains how annoying he found it to have this song stuck to his mind, and the song is just playing extremely loud while we watch Joe lie in the rocks in pure pain, the picture is fuzzy and blurry and gives a good feeling of realism and the song here fits so perfectly, the usage of the song reaelly makes us feel like we are Joe, alone in the rocks, with this unbelivable stupid song on our heads, a very powerful scene that, even though it was annoying as hell to listen to this crap song, it's just an amazing scene that gives a good view also on how picture and sound can be combined to reach inside your mind.The acting there isn't much to say about, the stand in actors does an amazing silent work, while they anger and suffering is brought to life by the well placed voice-overs from Joe and Simon.I am full of good words for this movie and i warmly recommend it if you want something non-commercial, beautifully raw and authentic..
After the comedy stinkpit of "Welcome To Mooseport", it was great to see a movie now that was good, that made me feel something intensely."Touching The Void" is the most intense, scariest, and most exciting movie about mountain climbing I've ever seen.
Based on Joe Simpson's book about his own hellish experience climbing the treacherous, uncharted west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes, this story would make either a fantastic documentary OR a gripping dramatization.
You will be really wondering about answers to some questions at the end of the movie.This is a documentary about two climbers who climb to a difficult mountain.
Mountaineering and climbing movies normally follow a rule; they are always awful, particularly if you are a climber, but this film is THE  exception.
THe film is a mixture of documentary and live action (it has to be said the doubles don't look much like the real thing) but filming in Peru gives tremendous sense of reality and Joe's amazing fight for survival is vividly brought to life.
A splendid, faithful reconstruction of Joe Simpson's book, 'Touching the Void' tells the tale of a mountaineering expedition that went terribly wrong.
"Touching the Void" is the recreation film based on the book about a mountain climbing expedition by two men (who were involved in the making of this film, and agree it was as accurate as something like this could be).
But the film really kicks in when nature rains on the parade, when it shows that survival is really the only positive outcome that can come from such a challenge.The moment when Joe, one of the two mountaineers who climbed the Andean mountain Siula Grande, breaks his leg shows how vulnerable we are no matter how well equipped we might be or how much experience we might have.
But Joe's battle to survive the mountain also shows how strong we can be, how through determination and will we can sometimes get through the toughest situations.But the film's also a testament to Joe's climbing partner, Simon Yates.
**Note: Because of the film's nature, I don't think I reveal anything you won't know is coming while watching, but I do tell you a number of major plot points, so be forewarned.**About a decade ago, the best-seller "Touching the Void" tore through the climbing community, and also garnered significant mainstream attention, because of a controversial decision made by one climber when stuck in a highly perilous situation.
Based on that 1988 non-fiction book, the film "Touching the Void" tells the story of those two climbers, Joe Simpson (who wrote the book) and Simon Yates, in a unique manner more often seen in retrospectives on The History Channel.
The "split in the mountaineering community" was actually something I remember, so a lot more than just talk for good sales on a documentary.The movie mixes traditional face on interviews of the three people involved in the story with beautifully filmed recreations of events.
Documentary tells the incredible story of a mountaineering accident and how Joe Simpson managed to save himself from almost certain death.
Jacky from Washington clearly knows nothing about climbing nor the amazing story of survival told by Joe Simpson.
It's an audacious attempt making "Touching the Void." Based on Joe Simpson's book, the tenaciously daring documentary filmmaker, Kevin MacDonald (who gave us "One Day in September" 2000, about the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis) has overcome the impossible odds and recreated what the perilous adventure was like for mountain climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, practically 18 years ago (June 1985), atop the 21,000 foot Siula Grande peak in the Peruvian Andes.
We get to see the actual mountaineering buddies, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, also Richard Hawking (who helped them watch and wait at the base camp during those fateful days), and hear their re-accounts and personal comments.
Watch this film and these true-life experiences of the climbers will remain with you for a long time to come..