Feature
Free Solo
Winner! People's Choice Documentary Award at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival
Final Week!
From award-winning documentary filmmaker E. Chai Vasarhelyi and world-renowned photographer and mountaineer Jimmy Chin, the directors of “MERU,” comes FREE SOLO, a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock… the 3,200-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park… without a rope. Celebrated as one of the greatest athletic feats of any kind, Honnold’s climb set the ultimate standard: perfection or death. Succeeding in this challenge places his story in the annals of human achievement.
FREE SOLO is an edge-of-your seat thriller and an inspiring portrait of an athlete who challenges both his body and his beliefs on a quest to triumph over the impossible, revealing the personal toll of excellence. As the climber begins his training, the armor of invincibility he’s built up over decades unexpectedly breaks apart when Honnold begins to fall in love, threatening his focus and giving way to injury and setbacks. Vasarhelyi and Chin succeed in beautifully capturing deeply human moments with Honnold as well as the death-defying climb with exquisite artistry and masterful, vertigo-inducing camerawork. The result is a triumph of the human spirit that represents what The New York Times calls “a miraculous opportunity for the rest of us to experience the human sublime.”
USA, 2018, 97 minutes, Not Rated, Directed by Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
-
“For those who love the thrill of high-adrenaline adventure docs, National Geographic's ‘Free Solo’ will be a hard experience to top.”
– Peter Debruge, VARIETY -
“A brilliant documentary.”
– Joe Morgenstern, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -
“Exhilarating…a surprisingly rich portrait of a young man and the obsession that drives him. Grade: A-”
– Chris Nashawaty, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY -
“A thrilling documentary that begs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.”
– Danielle Solzman, SOLZY AT THE MOVIES -
“’Free Solo’ showcases the most death-defying athletic feat the world has ever seen, the classic tale of a pretty girl chasing an alpha male, and the ensuing battle of the sexes: to nest or not to nest. Director Chin knocks it out of Yosemite Park.”
– Mark Jackson, EPOCH TIMES -
“Whether you care about climbing or not, you'll appreciate this tale of passion, discipline and, ultimately, transcendence. One incredible climb for one athlete, one quantum leap for mankind.”
– Katherine Laidlaw, GLOBE AND MAIL