Meru - O centro do universo

Absolutely riveting movie. Be prepared to grab your seat many times, there are some really scary moments! I found the beginning quite meaningful as the climbers passed various Indian Holy men praying and meditating. What the 3 climbers were about to do really required divine protection. The photography is stunning, especially with the stars whirling around over Meru. What comes across to me is the supreme team work and total trust in your partners. Conrad puts together the team and sets the objective. His partners Jimmy and Renan add their enormous set of diverse skills to enable the successful completion of the climb. Conrad has the wisdom accumulated over many years of climbing to know when to pull the plug and when to push on. We are introduced to each climber and the serious setbacks that they all have but they still push on. Marvelous.

Elite climbers on a previously unattainable peak are just one level of this film which digs deeply into dreams, goals, dedication and hardship made all the more inspirational when the viewer realizes the insanely remote, high altitude, and technical location that this story was shot in. Watching the climbing on MERU is as foreign to most of us as landing on another planet yet the film has all of the human elements that we crave, portrayed in powerful honesty. During the final scenes, I realized that each of the three main characters had their own well-developed back story filled with intense personal struggles yet the three characters were equally compelling and developed to the point that I was filled with flash-backs of the film that I carry with me to this day, nearly 6 months after my first viewing. There has never been another climbing genre documentary like MERU.

Appreciate Meru, for it is rare that a documentary, or movie in general, able to bring audience in such inspiringly immersive journey. This is more than just a trip to the titular location, it's a private real life struggle of the climbers which we as viewers may not fully understand, yet it's presented with incredible honesty and amazing visual spectacle.

The documentary spans across many years of the climbers' lives, including all the trials and tribulations they must endure. There's myriad of behind-the-scene video making involved as well as testimony of friends and families. Everything is done with polished approach and this honest nature welcomes audience even if they're not into mountaineering.

What's great about this is how they talk about the darkest days in very professional manner. Having to describe one's own intimate fear and life altering experience can't be easy, however the filmmakers still present them with composure. It is rarely that they are emotional when delivering the narrative, even if it's involving a very personal subject, yet the appreciation for the extreme sport and the determination are highly riveting. It also displays the hazard strikingly well one can't help being absorbed in their excursion.

The rest of it doesn't even need words as the documentary captures beautifully taxing landscape. It offers so much clarity before and during the climb itself, from the preparation, trip in the cities before to the physically exhausting climb. There is no five minutes spent without scenery worthy of being wallpapers or posters.

Meru is a visually stunning journey accompanied by brave and inspiring fellows. It is more than most movies wish they could convey.

I went with my family to the ol' picture shows, since it was Friday and all, and they all went to see the new Transporter: Refueled. I told them that I was definitely not going to see something as poorly made, regardless of how much I loved the first three (as an effing kid). So, I was limited to a certain amount of movies since theirs started at 10:30 PM, I had to see one as well around 10:00. I looked up the show times; last viewing of Bloodsucking Bastards was at 9:00 so I thought I was screwed. Then suddenly, I came across a new film I haven't even heard of called MERU.

This film literally put me through a whole mountain-climbing experience. I LOVED it so much in fact! I could not decide at first if I was going to rate this with 3.5 stars or 4. Even at one point I got to thinking it might stoop down to a 2.5 (shh), but it had its comebacks and moments that will remain stuck in my mind for probably all eternity.

Meru is about a team of climbers who want to be the first to top off the great Mount Meru in India (I believe..). Guiding this mission is a man named Conrad Anker, who I think presents himself as a great leader. Though, he definitely has that crazy, adrenaline-junky-look in his eyes, he is also smarter than you think. To aid him are two of his longtime friends whom he has accompanied throughout his travels/expeditions. Their names are Jimmy Ching, who is the sort of younger, optimist of the group, and Renan Ozturk, who basically is the weakling in the group; // doesn't stop him though.

I actually noticed how this documentary was organized in three acts, and it's funny because whatever I thought the movie was going to be about was ALL in the first act. Silly me! This film has twists and turns and though you may not get the best of footage, the (true) story is what counts. // There is also breathtaking camera shots; I love seeing a wide open mountain range; makes me feel like I can finally breath.

One of my favorite aspects of this film was the character development. And I know, how can you say that about a documentary? Well, this one has it! Especially, Renan who started out as the most annoying/bitchy character and turns into... well I don't want to ruin it.

This adventure was UNPREDICTABLE and EDGY. Especially around the third act, you will be bitting your nails. This is the kind of story that makes you understand more of the human psychology - facing your fears - With FRIENDSHIP and FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS. // Also, they speak highly of "praising to the teachers"; Learning from others and passing on the experience/skills. That is how things get done in this world. It also presents how many people come to finally accomplishing their dreams. // GOALS, PEOPLE! You gotta push yourself.

I liked how I had a point of view on things after walking out of the theater. I said to myself, "Huh, maybe FEAR is a good thing after-all."

-- Michael Mendez

Be careful around the shark's fin. It's a warning that swimmers might utter – and mountain climbers too. The Shark's Fin is the most challenging route up the most challenging of the three peaks of Meru, which is part of the Himalayas of northern India. The documentary "Meru" (R, 1:27) traces two separate attempts by a trio of climbers trying to be the first to reach the top of Meru Peak, via the Shark's Fin.

Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk are three of the most famous mountain climbers in the world, largely for their experiences on Meru Peak. Anker had become famous for his climbs in Antarctica and the Himalayas, one of which led to his discovery of 1920s' climber George Mallory's body on Mount Everest. Jimmy Chin had made a name for himself as both a climber and videographer who documented his climbs, as well as the expeditions of others. Anker and Chin were climbing partners for years when they took on Ozturk, a young but accomplished climber, for their 2008 expedition up the Shark's Fin.

This film tells us about and shows us the trio's 2008 and 2011 Meru expeditions and the momentous events in between. Heading up the mountain with them in 2008, we learn about why the Shark's Fin is uniquely challenging, uniquely dangerous and an irresistible goal for serious climbers like these. When the men come heartbreakingly close to reaching their goal, but have to turn back, we feel for them, even as we hear them talking about making another attempt. Their bodies and minds have to recover before they go back to India to try again, and life has to be lived. There are other climbs and other jobs for each of the three men to do while they plan their second trip to the Shark's Fin. When two of the three men have near-death experiences on separate occasions, serious questions arise. Who will make up the team on a second attempt? Given what's happened, can they succeed this time? Will they? "Meru" uses interviews with the trio to explain how they got together and describe their experiences on Meru. Anker's friend and fellow climber, Jon Krakauer, who wrote "Into Thin Air" (which was made into the 2015 film "Everest") also sits for an interview which sheds a significant amount of light on the story of the three Shark's Fin climbers, their expeditions, and mountain climbing in general. Most of "Meru", however, is made up of video shot by Chin and Ozturk on Meru Peak. The interview clips are succinct and informative, but it's the on-site video which gives this documentary its drama and its immediacy. I would have liked to hear more about what makes them do what they do and a bit of what happened in each of their lives after their second attempt to climb the Shark's Fin, but few criticisms can take much away from this remarkable film – one of the most fascinating and engaging documentaries of 2015. "A-"