Free Solo

I don't think my palms have stopped sweating since watching Free Solo. This documentary is beautifully shot and told in a way that keeps you hanging on every moment. Professional rock climber Alex Honnold is definitely insane, and yet you have to admire his strength and determination. I have no desire to climb El Capitan, nor do I think anyone else should try climbing it free solo, but I'm glad I got to experience it by proxy safely from the comfort of my couch.

"Free Solo" (2018 release; 96 min.) is a bio-pick about Alex Honnold and his historic 2017 climb of Yosemite's El Capitan. As the movie open, we see Alex in the later stage of that climb, and the images immediately will cause you to gasp. We then go back to "Spring 2016", when Alex is doing a book tour and comments about why he does what he does. "Chances of falling off are low, but the consequences are high", he wryly observes. Ater a few minutes recapping Alex's upbringing, it isn't long before the movie centers on El Capitan, "the center of the rock-climbing universe"... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from (real life couple) Jimmy Chan and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, who previously brought us the equally excellent "Meru", one of my favorite movies of 2014. Here they document the extraordinary feat accomplished by Alex Hannold of conquering the 3,200 ft. El Capitan. While the movie does well putting everything into the proper context, in particular Alex's budding relationship with his new girlfriend, what makes this so remarkable is that we, the audience at large (whom I suspect are not experts in rock climbing, let alone free solo climbing) are shown how technical and challenging it is to climb up El Capitan, let alone doing it free solo. Alex does many trial runs to grasp and master the most difficult parts of the climb. The last half hour brings us the actual free solo climb (on June 3, 2017), and even though we know the outcome (Alex lives!), it is still stupefying and almost impossible to watch (I admit I covered my eyes on a number of occasions). There are simply no words for it.

"Free Solo" opened in late September in limited release, and immediately caused a sensation. The movie finally opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at was PACKED to the rafters in the largest room of the 6 screen theater, something I haven't seen in YEARS. The movie is going to be a box office smash in the art-house theater circuit, and sure to be nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar. Whether you have any interest in rock climbing or not, if you want to see one of the greatest human achievements in sports or you are a thrill-seeker, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

No, I'm not inspired to free climb El Capitan or any slope. I'm an 84 year old retired businessman still trying to figure out how to best live my life, and I left the theater last night in awe of Alex Honnald's achievement -- climbing an almost vertical granite wall in a little over three hours when, in any second, the slightest mistake would result in death.

Watching Alex do it -- watching the joy in his face when he got beyond some of the most difficult challenges as well as on the top,\; watching the intense focus and concentration as he sought safe holds; watching what I read as his quiet determination and confidence when he approached the wall for his solo climb -- these images will be with me for the balance of my life.

They will return to me when I need focus and concentration in the moment to achieve something. They will return to me when I need to build confidence and determination to achieve a goal. They will return to me as I examine and release thoughts of fear that I conjure up (but I'm not blessed, as Alex is, with an amygdala that does not respond to fear inducing visions).

Thank you, Alex, for the powerful inspiration.

By far one of the best horror films I have ever seen.

I've wanted to see this film since I first heard it was being made. Reading about the soloing of El Cap in the summer of 2017, I was riveted. The film is just as, if not more, powerful than the best articles at the time.

Alex Honnold is, well, a bit of a weirdo, but I would not expect less from someone who has achieved something no other human being has. As he says at one point in the movie, "No one who is comfortable and cozy has ever achieved anything great."

The sequences of him climbing are extraordinary, terrifying, emotional, moving and awe-inspiring. Not just the sequences of El Cap, but all around the world.

But, there is so much more: his relationship with his family, his friends, and girlfriend are ... complicated. His recipe for potato-spinach-chili is sublime, and the method by which he consumes his food ... unique.

Go see this movie now! Why don't distribution companies release movies like this wider? I had to drive 30 miles to see it instead of 2 miles to my local cinema. Not everyone wants to see CGI-heavy superhero movies, especially when real superheroes exist.