Touching the Void

UK 2003, 106 minutes
Dir. Kevin MacDonald
Rating: [M]
Genres: Documentary

Topics: Sport.

Aroview: A documentary spectacle that recreates a mountaineering disaster in the Peruvian Andes and the heart-pounding, agonizing bid for survival against impossible odds.

With British climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates telling their own story, this shifts the central question from “what?” to “how?” to storytelling advantage. Though perhaps not as emotionally involving as similar mountaineering ‘legends’, this straddles the documentary and dramatic form with stunning use of reconstructed footage, and is ultimately a satisfying and extraordinary testament to the human will to survive.

NZ International Film Festival 2004

Member Reviews

Average rating (Very Good). Showing 1-3 of 4 member reviews.

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4 stars (Very Good) Totally gripping reconstruction of the harrowing experience of two British climbers when they venture up the 21,000 foot-high Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. Edge-of-your-seat stuff - an incredible tale of the depth of man's will to survive. ~GenXGirl
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5 stars (Exceptional) An authentic climbing film: no hollywood. Still probably the only rescue and self-rescue made from this altitude. Repeat viewings still overwhelming. Actaully inspirational -I got out of ranges with 6 fractures in leg using Joe's method. ~rakau
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2 stars (Good Try) Difficult to sympathise with extreme adventure sports people but the camera work is good and the shooting location is outstanding. ~tubbs