180° South

I enjoyed it and thought it to be well made. Interesting editing and beautiful areas. Made in the format of a documentary. I watched this thinking that it was a movie about a climbing/surfing trip when in fact it is a flick about conservation, industrial intrusion into the wild areas of Patagonia, and oh yea....a small bit of climbing thrown in too. One or two surfing shots too. I think it could have been billed differently to be accurate. A film about environmental conservation with some surfing shots thrown in every now and then and an unexpected sailing trip. A bit short on the adventure side and more heavy on the moral message. Still interesting in its own way.

In 1968, Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins decide to pack up and travel to Patagonia to climb a mountain. Years later, Jeff Johnson finds footage of the trip and decides to follow his heroes' footsteps. While sailing down to Patagonia, the mast snaps and the boat gets stranded on Easter Island. Jeff meets surfing teacher Makohe and she joins him. They meet up with Doug and Yvon. Jeff attempts to climb Cerro Corcovado.

This is a rather zen travelogue adventure despite the action. It is a documentary story that does meander. A recreation of the story would be more thrilling and action packed. There is a huge amount of environmental lifestyle philosophizing. I love the mountain climbing footage although I'm less excited about all the pontificating. It's all fine for the right audience.

I never thought one of my favorite films would be a documentary - but it is! This is the ultimate story of adventure, mishap, and enjoying every minute of the journey. 180° South has it all; beautiful videography, the perfect soundtrack, and great character presentation and involvement.

180° South is the story of Jeff Johnson and his 2008 journey from Ventura, California to Patagonia in the eventual goal of climbing the peak Corcovado. Jeff's trip takes place ten years after he watched Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins' film 'Mountain of Storm' which depicted their 1968 trip to Patagonia. 180° South is the story of Jeff Johnson's journey, the ups and downs, and the parallel story of the 1968 trip. The film features terrific dialogue from Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins as anecdotes to the trips.

This is easily my favorite film to live vicariously through. Watch it! You won't be disappointed.

http://www.180south.com/index.html

Purely from a visual standpoint this Doc is inspiring and loaded with singer-songwriter tunes from artists such as M. Ward, Mason Jennings, and Ugly Casanova which compliment the imagery. This film is raw and if you are a fan of over-produced special effects such as the one star reviewer then don't watch it. 180 Degrees echos other films such as Shelter and Sprout in the sense of adventure, inspiration, and solitude. I have been surfing for 25 years and have recently taken up rock climbing thanks to this film, truly inspiring. I would recommend any film which involves the Malloy brothers. I have been watching the Malloy's since I was a kid and they have given so much to surfing and remain the greatest ambassadors to the sport.

I don't surf or climb, or know who founded various outdoor clothing and gear companies. I've never been out of the country or sailed an ocean. But I do know I enjoyed this film. I never once felt that the people in this movie were smug or talking down to me as one reviewer said. 180 Degrees South appealed to my sense of adventure; that tiny impulse in the back of my brain that sometimes interjects ideas like 'forget the daily grind, leave it all behind and go explore nature'. If more people just would listen and look at the world around them, appreciate the land we call home, do what you can to preserve a little bit of it.... the world would be a much better place.

Definitely worth watching!