The Alpinist - Uno spirito libero

Each life on this earth has a path to follow and a reason to walk on that road. This documentary shows one of those different roads being turged by this beautiful individual and a wonderful soul, away from all the sparkling beauty that today's artificial world shows. Brilliant Documentary.

Marc-André Leclerc climbs alone, on remote alpine faces. No cameras, no rope, and no margin for error. Climbing for Leclerc is spiritual and brings peace to his roaming mind. He doesn't climb for awards or notoriety. He climbs mountains for the purest of all reasons: because they are there.

Co-directors Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen are climbers themselves. Their talented eyes balance the wonders of the mountain top views with the dangers that one slip can bring. Fans of the Oscar winner Free Solo should seek out Mortimer's The Dawn Wall, which is an equally-compelling documentary also filmed at El Capitan.

Here, both Mortimer and Rosen's talents are tested with The Alpinist as free spirit Leclerc is not one who sits still. Nor does he exhibit the patience for the schedules of film crews let alone delays due to the weather. Leclerc notoriously climbs solo. He disappears, and not only when climbing. He is always seeking solitary space. When the cameras are able to capture him hard at play, the end result is spectacular.

Similar to other mountaineering documentaries, The Alpinist is a story of perseverance and strength. Unlike others, The Alpinist does not merely balance on the edge of triumph and tragedy, but intermixes the two into a gut-punch of a finale. Marc-André Leclerc is an incredible climber whose spirit is as indomitable as the peaks he summits. Leclerc, in all his humility, is quite the beacon for those who wish to overcome any obstacle, be it addiction, mental illness, or that mountain on the horizon. Through Leclerc, the human adventure continues.

The Alpinist is a fascinating documentary that shows rare footage of beautiful landscapes and will either inspire you to chase your dreams or make you afraid of heights. Whichever way you take it, the movie is well worth the watch.

The Alpinist follows the 23-year-old mountain climber, Marc-Andre Leclerc, who is a pioneer of solo climbing and has broken countless records. In the documentary, you see all his astonishing climbs and travels around the world and meet the meaningful people who are in Marc-Andre's life.

There are many remarkable factors about the movie. The first thing to mention is the cinematography which is mind blowing! The angles and the positions of the camera capture the climbing so perfectly that you feel as if you are climbing right along with Marc-Andre. You feel so connected to Marc-Andre that you feel like you've known him forever. Kudos to directors Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen and their crew. The way they captured this incredible footage is remarkable, because as you watch the film, you learn how elusive Marc-Andre Leclerc can be.

The messages of this film are to follow your passions and to have courage, while also understanding the risks of what you are doing. There is some profanity, some wounds are shown, and the use of drugs. If you are afraid of heights, I would definitely not recommend this.

I give The Alpinist 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. It opens in theaters September 10, 2021. Katherine S, KIDS FIRST!

Watching this movie left me feeling inspired by his drive, determination, his dreams, and humility. The story was beautifully and respectfully shared with the world. I won't lie I did cry at the end. I highly recommend this movie. It truly touched my soul.

He is little known, but deserves this film, a great tribute to a great climber. I'm an armchair climber (but real life mountain freak) and this is a great journey I'm glad I got to go on. Great climbing footage and real life adventures (many!) rivaling, if not surpassing, Free Solo, Dawn Wall, and Meru (my personal fav, but it's a different thing). The faces he climbs in this made me quake to my toes, just incredible, but oh the rewards! His achievements, just in this film, are many and mind-boggling. This isn't about just one fantastic ascent, but many (and some firsts).

All the things people say about people like this and the risks they take, or fates with which they flirt, are just BS. We ALL take risks everyday. Driving on a freeway can be just as swift and life changing as free soloing or any mountaineering, and neither is any more or less tragic. Risky is risky, but at least he does it in such breathtaking places, and gets to challenge himself in unique ways. The beauty is that he's so positive and seems to live in the now, with such enthusiasm. If you don't learn from these things and don't recognize that it's the journey, you are just a fool on a rock face, which Mark-Andre is not. Is the punter who "climbs" Everest any more wise for the ego gratifying stunt? Usually not and the risks are pretty dire even for that.

I was thinking of my inspirations and goals while watching this, and I realized that, in my own way, I went for it, too. Very different from Mark-Andre, yet not pulling back from anything. So thanks to Mark-Andre as I often am so hard on myself. It's also very inspiring, no matter your situation, to keep going on and not stop now. Or what are we alive for? Above and beyond, always.

A very emotional journey, and maybe the best thing is that, by the end, you really, really care about Mark-Andre and feel something genuine, so hats off to the filmmakers for that. And hats off to Mark-Andre for finally letting them film him, so that we can enjoy a fraction of what he enjoys and learn who he is. And just huge props to a once in a generation climber. May you find that perfect summit, that perfect sunrise, Mark-Andre!