The Climb - La salita

Was looking forward to this based on the plot and reviews. You don't get hugely invested in the characters. It has some good moments but tried pretty hard to be Coen Brothers esque.

I was expecting the usual indie film, lacking in execution and with a sloppy and forgettable story. I was instead very surprised, as it has many inventive ideas and the script is well written. It is splitted in 7 parts and each chapter is like a long uninterrupted shot, with very few cuts in the middle. This make the story flow very nicely.

The friendship between Mike and Kyle will be tested a lot, but they always manage to reconcile, no matter what. The title of this movie is just perfect. For the whole time I had the feeling that this relation is a really difficult climb on a hill that will never end, and eventually finish where the two friends will just give up on each other. In the end things will be fixed, and finally we see the descent. This small indie project does not have a big budget, nor important names casting on it, however it delivers a nice story and a thoughtful narrative. There are here and there some sequences that are just a little bit too long and boring, but it is just one hour and a half long, so honestly not a big deal and I wouldn't cut anything out.

Among all these independent films, this is surprisingly good: characters are deepen, and you can easily bound with the two protagonists, it has a some good funny moments and overall is a simple and enjoyable movie. I personally recommend it, especially if you are searching for a light-hearted watch.

The Climb is in some way a pessimistic looking at some friendships, but showing that the most important element in it can be just trustworthiness. Someone's best friend can be a cheater, but when you need him/her you can count on him/her without doubt. It is very refreshing American comedy and for sure you can enjoy in those 94 min with lot a laugh and music. If I may notice, the author adores French songs. Also, it is nice to see a dynamic camera movement and unforgettable is the scene where Kyle is performing a pole dance to the song "Lullaby". It's brilliant!

Saw this at fhe Film Festival Munich 2019 (in German: Film Fest München). An intriguing collection of nice finds, augmenting the at-first-sight downthrodden path of triangle relationships where two men compete for one woman, but there is so much more at that. A parallel topic is male bonding, said to be stronger than between man and wife but even so often falsified, but nevertheless working out surprisingly here in a very original way. We watch a series of separate stories, mostly some time passed in between, each having the same two men as center of attention. Each chapter carries a specific title, foreshadowing what we are going to see as dramatic development(s). For instance, in the first chapter with the title "I'll kill you!" comes to light that one of the men had a sexual relationship with the fiancée of the other one (no fatalities, however, despite the title of this chapter).

That said, I would have preferred that each of the chapters was introduced not only with an intriguing title but also with some context and a time frame. A spoiler-free example of the latter is the start of chapter 2. We obviously attend a funeral, but I was left too much time wondering who and why. Th "who" question is answered implicitly when the funeral leader invites "her husband" to say something. The "why" remains unanswered, and ditto how much time elapsed between chapter 1 and 2. The chapter ends in a very unusual way, when the husband gets into a fight with churchyard personnel around a shovel. Expect more such unexpected turns of events in this movie. This is one of its trademarks.

My feeling that I had to grasp for context happened similarly with subsequent chapters, where new protagonists were thrown on us without telling who-was-who. Nevertheless, the respective stories become clear after some time to get acquainted. Most important aspect of this movie is that the turns of events are unexpected and ample humor is included, contrasting with the also prevalent sadder moments. It all makes up a perfect mix. In other words, just like real-life outside the cinema runs its course, with ups and downs, and for better or for worse.

When ignoring the flaws in storytelling (assuming these flaws are real and not just my fault), watching this movie is a rewarding experience, not the least of the humor-riddled dialogs. Take for instance a "how long" question in the opening chapter, that was answered "still 2 miles", obviously not the assumed answer how long the offending sexual relationship had lasted. And the "I'll kill you!" exclamation was not to be taken literally, as we can see when the front cyclist hits a passing car, triggering its driver to leave the car and tries to attack him. The ranks are closed very fast in their combined effort to contain the angry car driver, and the earlier death threat is forgotten on the spot.

All in all, each of the chapters has its own merits, are well written and treat relevant situations and real people with real attitudes and opinions. The stories are diverse in topic and show different people in different circumstances, sharing our two main protagonists as common denominator. Indeed, their connection and their chemistry remain the central theme throughout the running time. Seeing them go through all these phases and events makes watching this movie a memorable experience.

Movie was ok and there were some amusing bits, but I couldn't class it as a comedy. I even started to get a little bored and lost interest in the 2 main protagonists before the end. The part that made me the happiest was when it had finally finished.