For those who haven't seen it yet. Starts at 8 central .
Free Solo on National Geographic Channel for free.
- Thread starter RedDog
- Start date
Highly recommend this in IMAX...so much detail it’s simply amazing. Great movie. Hopefully they’ll play Apollo 11 in IMAX in DSM as well.
He is Spock like his friends tease him. That scene where he says something like "I can't guarantee you that I will prioritize maximizing my lifespan"...so crazy.
My wife and I both had sweaty palms midway through and we've hiked many of the tallest peaks in the Sierras, being at the tops of these I absolutely can't imagine climbing them even with ropes. Yosemite doesn't have the highest peaks but they are the most stomach dropping to the eyes. Last time we were at Yosemite we watched some tightrope walkers for about an hour and it turned the stomach just imagining.
By chance we saw Alex at a mall a few days after we saw the movie, I think he was in LA for something to do with the film.
Maybe the greatest single athletic achievement ever completed by mankind and documented beautifully to boot.
He is going to eventually die doing it and he seems to have made peace with it. He is an amazing climber. I did some
Minor rock climbing at El cap and watching him climb it and know how high and how technical it is made me squirm. I Almost
Could not watch it even though I knew he made it.
Minor rock climbing at El cap and watching him climb it and know how high and how technical it is made me squirm. I Almost
Could not watch it even though I knew he made it.
[QUOTE="Knownothing, post: 6568050, member: 3657"]He is going to eventually die doing it and he seems to have made peace with it. He is an amazing climber. I did some
Minor rock climbing at El cap and watching him climb it and know how high and how technical it is made me squirm. I Almost
Could not watch it even though I knew he made it.[/QUOTE]
Not necessarily. His mentor in the movie, who also free soloed for like 30+ years was like 60 years and still climbing. The quote in the movie that "everyone that has made free soloing a big part of their life is now dead" was misleading. Most of those people died while doing other things, like base jumping.
Minor rock climbing at El cap and watching him climb it and know how high and how technical it is made me squirm. I Almost
Could not watch it even though I knew he made it.[/QUOTE]
Not necessarily. His mentor in the movie, who also free soloed for like 30+ years was like 60 years and still climbing. The quote in the movie that "everyone that has made free soloing a big part of their life is now dead" was misleading. Most of those people died while doing other things, like base jumping.
I'm not terribly afraid of heights, but I think this movie would freak me out. I'm sure I'll watch it eventually and then have falling nightmares.
Really enjoyed the film. It is interesting that he is a really nice man but at times seems on to be a borderline sociopath. So consumed with perfection.
I think he has his points, though.
Death is inevitable for all of us. Therefore, what should we do with the time we have?
Most of us are pursuing in one way or another the strategy of lengthening our lifespans as long as we reasonable can. Why is his strategy of maximizing what he enjoys doing really any worse, despite the substantial risks he will die before his life expectancy?
Reminds me of this quote from The Lost World...
Remember that chap about twenty years ago? I forget his name. Climbed Everest without any oxygen, came down nearly dead. When they asked him, they said "Why did you go up there to die?" He said "I didn't, I went up there to live".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Messner
I suspect it is the exact same mentality. He wants to live, not just to not die.
There was a line in there about most people being able to live "happy, safe, content lives." He builds on that with the idea that nobody who accomplishes much great is really a stable, content individual. They are often tortured by demons, internal and external, and take some great personal risks in order to accomplish what they do fighting them. It sounds like his were a difficult childhood, strained relations with family, and the early death of his father.
I think he is right -- geniuses are rarely stable. Great artists, athletes, leaders, etc. have mellow, stable personalities far less than your average person. They take risks at high cost and reward to themselves, and we are the beneficiaries enjoying their accomplishments.
He definitely does not care much about those around him, but I would argue they all know the risks of emotional attachment to him. His climber friends and colleagues definitely do. His girlfriend was clearly uncomfortable with it, but she can leave anytime she wants.
I suspect, though the film does not make explicit, that part of him also wants to minimize the human impact on the environment. His lifestyle argues towards that somewhat. Consuming as few resources as possible with a shorter life and/or reduced human population is one way to do that. I find it a misguided way, but I see his point. I wonder if part of him is okay with dying like that, doing what he loves, as to not be a further burden on the planet.
Like many highly successful people, I feel like he has a form of high functioning aspergers/autism type condition. The lack of social skills, the hyper focus, etc. He shows many of the symptoms. Those conditions, when applied to something like this, can produce amazing works of art. What he does is just awe inspiring.
I watched Free Solo with my girlfriend and she was losing her **** (I'm a rock climber and have been transitioning more into mountaineering) thinking I was out doing the same stuff. It was nice to see him go through what he was going through with his relationship. It definitely made me out as a little more "normal" to the girl i think lol. I will never forget my first mountaineering experience. My mind usually moves 1 million mph, but for those hours, I literally thought of only one thing, survival. And it was sooooo refreshing. I can only imagine taking it to 11 like he does and the "high" he gets from that level of focus.
I agree, he has some fair points. I like to think that I subscribe to that line of thinking. I want to live, not just to not die.He is certainly pushing that idea to the extreme, his form of living has higher stakes than most.
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Maybe "sociopath" was a little bit harsh. There was just one point stuck out to me- it almost made me feel bad for him. “For Sanni, the point of life is happiness,” Alex says. “For me, it’s performance.”
I thought the same thing. After they mentioned that his dad lived with a similar condition, I was surprised they didn't say anything about Alex appearing to inherit some of those traits. Maybe it was so obvious, they didn't need to.
