Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

Touching the Void

(UK, 2003)

Yikes! This is one of the most harrowing movies I’ve ever seen. I’m not a fan of mountain climbing or of climbers; I feel they deserve whatever they get, as they set out for excitement, didn’t they? So my sympathies are limited. But in this case … two men set out to climb the highest mountain in the Andes that has never been scaled. This is a semi-documentary, in that the action is re-created by actors, but it must be dead accurate as both the real climbers narrate the film. I won’t even try to tell you what happened, though of course you know they survived it … but think of the worst things you can imagine on a mountain and then double that. Triple it. Excellent.