Free Solo | |
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Directed by | |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography |
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Edited by | Bob Eisenhardt |
Music by | Marco Beltrami |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | National Geographic Documentary Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 100 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2 million [1] |
Box office | $29.4 million [2] |
Free Solo is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin [3] that profiles rock climber Alex Honnold on his quest to perform the first-ever free solo climb of a route on El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, in June 2017. [4] [5]
The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018, and also screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People's Choice Award in the Documentaries category. [6] It was released in the United States on September 28, 2018 and grossed over $28 million. [7]
The film received acclaim from critics and numerous accolades, including winning Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards. [8] [9]
Climber Alex Honnold has been dreaming of free-soloing the 3,000 feet (900 m) rock wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a feat no one has performed. His choice of big wall climbing route on El Capitan is called Freerider , a route that was created by Alexander Huber in 1998, and which is graded at 5.13a (7c+) in difficulty. No climber has ever completed a big-wall free solo at such a grade of difficulty in rock climbing history. Honnold, who has completed Freerider several times with protection equipment, is a shy loner, who lives in his van with then-girlfriend (now wife) Sanni McCandless.
Alex goes climbing with Sanni, but while Sanni is feeding the rope through a grigri, she makes a mistake and Alex falls. He visits a physician, where it is revealed he has a compression fracture. Alex then admits wanting to break up with Sanni. In the summer of 2016, Alex and Tommy Caldwell are climbing in Morocco in preparation for his free solo. The crew also prepares, discussing where to place cameras to best capture Alex’s climb while minimizing distractions and interference. Producer Jimmy Chin discusses the ethical dilemma of creating this documentary knowing Alex may die on camera. Alex also receives an MRI in order to understand his brain’s response to fear.
In the fall of 2016, Alex sprains his ankle on El Capitan while traditional climbing (i.e., using climbing protection equipment) on the first section of Freerider, the giant multi-pitch slab known as Freeblast and graded at 5.11b (6c). Although his foot is swollen, Alex continues to climb in fear of his schedule being delayed. Around Halloween, Alex and Sanni visit Tommy and his wife and children for carving pumpkins. This prompts Alex to describe his upbringing: the word “love” was not used in his household, as his father lacked the ability to form emotional bonds. Alex and Tommy rappel down Freerider on El Capitan and Alex outlines his route, discussing the areas about which he is apprehensive: one section offers him two alternative pathways on Freerider that he calls "The Teflon Corner" (a right-angled section with a smooth slippery surface), or the famous "Boulder Problem" (a particularly intricate piece of the rock wall that he must finish either with a jump or a wide "karate kick" stance). Both the crew and Sanni suggest abandoning the plan, and Alex admits that he does not want his friends to see him die if he falls while free soloing; he finds out about the death of Ueli Steck and reflects on his own risk-taking. In a trial run, Alex climbs El Capitan without equipment but bails after the slab section of Freeblast. As a result, filmmaker Jimmy grows apprehensive of filming Alex, fearful it will put unnecessary pressure on him.
On June 3, 2017, Alex begins his free solo climb of Freerider on El Capitan; Sanni leaves and expresses her apprehensions. As Alex is climbing, the crew narrates his progress, and watches nervously as Alex completes the "Boulder Problem"; one cameraman turns away as he can't bear to watch. Alex continues with his climb and completes the free solo, and celebrates at the top with Jimmy and Sanni over a phone call.
The documentary ends with information on the climb—Alex completed it in 3 hours and 56 minutes—and Alex contemplating his next steps.
Prior to filming, directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin struggled with the ethical ramifications and decisions behind creating Free Solo, knowing Honnold could die on camera. [10] They ultimately decided to go through with the film and devoted some time to documenting its own production process, with Chin and his camera crew (all experienced climbers themselves) discussing the challenge of not endangering climber Alex Honnold by distracting him or pressuring him at all to attempt the climb. According to Vasarhelyi, filming while not endangering Honnold was achieved with careful planning and practice. [11] As the cameramen were all climbers, they were able to effectively capture Honnold’s climb from different vantage points. [12] The production team captured 700 hours of footage using 12 cameras. [13] This included cameramen on the ground, cameramen on the cliff face, remote trigger cameras, and a helicopter with a 1,000 mm lens to capture the 4k video. [12] [13] Wireless mics, however, could not be used to record sound from Honnold due to his distance from the cameras. [11] As a result, the filmmakers created a special recording device and had Honnold carry it inside his chalk bag. [11]
The film was made by National Geographic Partners, [14] which at the time of the film's release was majority-owned by 21st Century Fox, with the remainder owned by the National Geographic Society. [15]
Free Solo premiered in the United States on August 31, 2018 at the Telluride Film Festival and in Canada on September 9, 2018, at the Toronto International Film Festival. [7] It has been shown at multiple film festivals internationally since then. [7] Free Solo was later released in theatres in the USA on September 28, 2018. [7]
Free Solo grossed $17.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $11.1 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $28.6 million. [16]
The film made $300,804 from four theaters in its opening weekend, surpassing Eighth Grade and An Inconvenient Sequel , respectively, for the highest per-venue average of 2018 and of a documentary all-time with $75,201. [17] It expanded to 41 theaters in its second weekend, making $562,786. [18] The film grossed $859,051 from 129 theaters in its third weekend and $1 million from 251 theaters in its fourth weekend. [19] [20] During its fifth weekend, it earned $1.06 million from 394 theaters, bringing the total box office gross to over $5 million. [21]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 157 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Free Solo depicts athletic feats that many viewers will find beyond reason – and grounds the attempts in passions that are all but universal." [22] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [23]
Writing for Variety , Peter Debrudge praised the pacing of the documentary: "Apart from a slow stretch around the hour mark, the filmmakers keep things lively (with a big assist from Marco Beltrami's pulse-quickening score, the nail-biting opposite of Tim McGraw's soaring end-credits single, "Gravity")." [24] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair called the film "bracingly made" and thought the filmmakers properly conveyed the challenges and dangers faced by Honnold in his endeavors: "Free Solo's detailed, transfixing portrait of their hero will at least show some sort of barrier to entry, communicating to those eager wannabes that very few people indeed are built quite like Alex Honnold. And thank goodness, in a way, for that." [25]
Michael Hale, London-based journalist for Sight and Sound, praised the filming techniques and the resulting effect. [26] He argued that an image reminiscent of Greek mythology is evoked in Alex Honnold as the height and scale of El Capitan is captured. [26] Film critic for the Globe and Mail John Doyle similarly praised the film, focusing on the “texture” of Free Solo. [27] He specifically praised the tension and intensity when Honnold repeatedly risked death, along with the relatability of Honnold and his girlfriend. [27] Similarly, journalist Sam Wollastan argued that Free Solo effectively captures an amazing athletic feat, the emotional development of Honnold, and the budding romance between Honnold and McCandless. [28] The emotional development is further praised by The Times journalist Jane Mulkerrins, who remarks on the duality of the documentary as it examines the preparation and climb of Alex Honnold along with his relationship with girlfriend Sanni McCandless: “[Free Solo] captures the death-defying climb with vertigo-inducing camerawork. We see Honnold getting ready for the climb… At the same time, the armour of invincibility he's built up over the years fractures when he begins to fall in love with Sanni.” [29]
El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about 3,000 feet (914 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is a world-famous location for big wall climbing, including the disciplines of aid climbing, free climbing, and more recently for free solo climbing.
Alexander Huber, is a German rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of rock climbing. Huber came to prominence in the early 1990s as the world's strongest sport climber after the passing of Wolfgang Güllich. He is the second-ever person to redpoint a 9a (5.14d) graded route by ascending Om in 1992, and has latterly come to be known as the first-ever person to redpoint a 9a+ (5.15a) graded route from his 1996 ascent of Open Air.
Solo climbing, or soloing, is a style of climbing in which the climber climbs a route alone, without the assistance of a belayer. By its very nature, it presents a higher degree of risk to the climber, and in some cases, is considered extremely high risk. Note that the use of the term "solo climbing" is generally separate from the action of bouldering, which is itself a form of solo climbing, but with less serious consequences in the case of a fall. The most dangerous form of solo climbing is free solo climbing, which means both climbing alone and without any form of climbing protection.
Multi-pitch climbing is a type of climbing that typically takes place on routes that are more than a single rope length in height, and thus where the lead climber cannot complete the climb as a single pitch. Where the number of pitches exceeds 6–10, it can become big wall climbing, or where the pitches are in a mixed rock and ice mountain environment, it can become alpine climbing. Multi-pitch rock climbs can come in traditional, sport, and aid formats. Some have free soloed multi-pitch routes.
Tommy Caldwell is an American rock climber who has set records in sport climbing, traditional climbing, and in big-wall climbing. Caldwell made the first free ascents of several major routes on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climbers climb solo without ropes or other protective equipment, using only their climbing shoes and their climbing chalk. Free soloing is the most dangerous form of climbing, and, unlike bouldering, free soloists climb above safe heights, where a fall can be fatal. Though many climbers have free soloed climbing grades they are very comfortable on, only a tiny group free solo regularly, and at grades closer to the limit of their abilities.
Rope-solo climbing or rope-soloing is a form of solo climbing, but unlike with free solo climbing, which is also performed alone and with no climbing protection whatsoever, the rope-solo climber uses a mechanical self-belay device and rope system, which enables them to use the standard climbing protection to protect themselves in the event of a fall.
Jimmy Chin is an American professional mountain athlete, photographer, skier, film director, and author.
Dean Spaulding Potter was an American free climber, alpinist, BASE jumper, and highliner. He completed many hard first ascents, free solo ascents, speed ascents, and enchainments in Yosemite National Park and Patagonia. In 2015, he died in a wingsuit flying accident in Yosemite National Park.
Stephanie "Steph" Davis is an American rock climber, BASE jumper, and wingsuit flyer. She is one of the world's leading climbers, having completed some of the hardest routes in the world. She has free soloed up to 5.11a (6b+), and was the first woman to summit all the peaks of the Fitzroy Range in Patagonia, the second woman to free climb El Capitan in a day, the first woman to free climb the Salathė Wall on El Capitan, the first woman to free solo The Diamond on Longs Peak in Colorado, and the first woman to summit Torre Egger. Davis was married to fellow climbers and BASE jumpers Dean Potter and Mario Richard, and currently to sky-diving instructor, flyer, and jumper Ian Mitchard. Davis is also a blogger who writes about her interests in climbing, BASE jumping, yoga, and veganism.
Big wall climbing is a form of rock climbing that takes place on long multi-pitch routes that normally require a full day, if not several days, to ascend. In addition, big wall routes are typically sustained and exposed, where the climbers remain suspended from the rock face, even sleeping hanging from the face, with limited options to sit down or escape unless they abseil back down the whole route. It is therefore a physically and mentally demanding form of climbing.
The Nose is a big wall climbing route up El Capitan. Once considered impossible to climb, El Capitan is now the standard for big wall climbing. It is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a classic around the world.
Alex Honnold is an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls. Honnold rose to worldwide fame in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo a route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a climb described in The New York Times as "one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever." Honnold also holds the record for the fastest ascent of the "Yosemite Triple Crown", an 18-hour, 50-minute link-up of Mount Watkins, The Nose, and the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome. In 2015, he won a Piolet d'Or in alpine climbing with Tommy Caldwell for their completion of the enchainment of the Cerro Chaltén Group in Patagonia over 5 days.
Sender Films is an American film production company based in Boulder, Colorado. Productions include outdoor adventure films, television shows, and commercials.
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi is an American documentary filmmaker. She was the director, along with her husband, Jimmy Chin, for the film Free Solo, which won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film profiled Alex Honnold and his free solo climb of El Capitan in June 2017. Their first scripted film venture was Nyad, a biopic chronicling Diana Nyad's quest to be the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida.
Meru is a 2015 documentary film chronicling the first ascent of the "Shark's Fin" route on Meru Peak in the Indian Himalayas. It was co-directed by married couple Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and won the U.S. Audience Documentary Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
Hazel Findlay is a British traditional climber, sport climber and big wall climber. She was the first female British climber to climb a route graded E9, and a route graded 8c (5.14b). She did the third ascent of the Yosemite traditional route Magic Line 5.14c (8c+). She has free climbed El Capitán four times on four different routes and made many first female ascents on other routes. Climbing magazine gave her their Golden Piton Award (Alpine) for traditional climbing in 2013.
Mark Synnott is an American professional rock climber and author. He is an internationally certified mountain guide and member of The North Face athlete team. Synnott specializes in remote first ascents of big wall climbs.
Brad Gobright was an American rock climber known for free solo climbing.
The Alpinist is a 2021 American documentary film directed by Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen about Marc-André Leclerc, a free-spirited and little-known 23-year-old Canadian rock climber, ice climber, and alpinist. From 2015 to 2016, a film crew followed Leclerc as he solo climbed some of the most difficult and dangerous alpine climbing routes in the world.