It has been a year stacked to the brim with documentaries and the spiritual successor to the Oscar-winning doc Free Solo takes an intimate look at the life and aspirations of the legendary young climber Marc-André Leclerc. The Alpinist is a captivating and mesmerizing experience, and it’s one of the best documentaries of the year.
I saw this one a little late in its theatrical run, but I’m glad I did. I’ve been so busy with other things, I haven’t had the time to sit down and write about it but this film deserves to be seen. If you’ve seen Free Solo, the intricacies of this film are more digestible, and if you haven’t you may want to check that out first.
This isn’t the first climbing documentary for Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen and their passion comes through on the screen. Even though Marc-André’s experiences are unique and extreme, these two filmmakers translated that well while also making sure to humanize him in a tangible way. The vast majority of the audience will probably never do or attempt anything close to what they’ll see in this film, myself included. That said, Mortimer and Rosen capture the essence of their subject in a way that, not only, allows the audience to share some very basic human motivations with him, but also makes you respect the journey.
The cinematography by Jonathan Griffith, Austin Siadak, and Brett Lowell is breathtaking. I don’t want to give too much away, but just based on the nature of this project there is a lot of gorgeous B-roll footage and establishing shots, but some of the up-close camera work had to be done via drone and it’s harrowing. There’s also some footage filmed by Marc-André himself as he was climbing or after he had reached the summit of certain peaks. It really is a beautiful film on-screen and it’s best to see it on the biggest screen possible.
I could keep going but the film speaks for itself best in regards to what I want to say. So, it doesn’t make sense for me to do it a disservice here. It’s best to just go into the movie blind and let the filmmaking do the work.
Recommendation: If you enjoyed Free Solo, this is a must. If you haven’t seen it, give them both a watch because it pushes the limit of documentary filmmaking in new directions.
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