Fine Lines

This film reaches a broad audience and has touched my soul in ways that I didn't think a movie of this genre would. The themes it's runs through are not only deep but anyone can relate no matter what aspects of their lives they draw parallels to. It was nice to finally see the human side of such extreme athletes. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

A refreshing look into the intimate and thought provoking topics we don't often see extreme athletes get into- certainly not in such depth and honesty; a contemplative and philosophical look into the reasons behind why some people put their lives at risk when there is not much to gain from the act. Finally, we get to see incredible women alongside the men in this sport too, my favourite "climbing" film to date - though it's really so much more than climbing.

This documentary gets you thinking about what it means to have purpose in life and what following your dreams means, risks and all. You don't need to be a climber or enamoured by alpinism or extreme sports to find so much meaning in this beautifully crafted film. Best documentary I've seen in a very long time.

I had no idea about this until today and gave it a watch. I've had the privilege to spend some time in the mountains now and even some with the folks in this film. I've watched friends take big ones in front of me and had some close calls in there too. I give it a 10 on the caveat that, when the right person at the right time maybe for the right reasons watches this it will land like nothing else out there.

Nothing I've seen gets as close to drawing out the real nuances available in endeavors such as these, through the eyes of the people who have walked the mile. I don't think it's a question of which is better, Free Solo, Dawn Wall, or this.

Each are equally remarkable in their own right, each, for the first time, took the whole world along along with them. Each makes the other better and adds to the narrative.

Tommy nails one late in a film that in whole is a sum of quotable content when he says, "we're no longer focused on what we're doing, we're focused on the story we're going to tell as we're doing it. We have the privilege to inspire in a way that we never could in the past. But, I feel like there's a loss...walk that balance delicately."

It's like we got Tommy on The Dawn Wall and we get a meta Dawn Wall Tommy here * 20. A better question might be, what's next and who is next?

A fantastic film any climbing enthusiast will enjoy. It is not your typical climbing documentary where you follow a climber on their adventure overcoming some impossibly hard route. Instead, this is 20 of the most recognizable faces from all disciplines of the sport (Alex Honnold, Adam Ondra, Lynn Hill, etc) each having a very open conversation about some of the most difficult aspects of climbing. Topics range from their draws to climbing, the inherent risk in the sport, a very real look at death, the drawbacks of social media on professionals lives, and far more.

Many may be turned off by a climbing documentary without a specific mountain to be overcome, but it is a fantastic glimpse into how these amazing athletes view some incredibly difficult questions often not considered. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in climbing in any way.