Touching the Void

Name: Touching the Void
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sport, Documentary
Released: January 23, 2004
Duration: 106 min
Rating: 82
Cast: Brendan Mackey, Joe Simpson, Nicholas Aaron, Simon Yates

2004

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 38 Ratings

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8.4

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8.4	User Score Universal acclaim based on 38 Ratings

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Touching The Void

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: January 23, 2004 | R

Starring: Brendan Mackey, Joe Simpson, Nicholas Aaron, Simon Yates

Summary: This documentary follows the climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates as they set out to climb the west face of the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes.

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, Sport, Documentary

Rating: R

Runtime: 106 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

David Ansen

By the end of this white-knuckle movie, you stand in awe at the depth of man's will to survive. Touching the Void leaves you emotionally and physically spent, and grateful it was only a movie, not a mountain, you had to endure. Read full review

100

Lawrence Toppman

Warms the heart while chilling the bones. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Tells a tale of fortitude that comes not from muscle but from the ineffable, bungee-like sinew that is the human spirit. Read full review

Don Sapatkin

Touching the Void is, indeed, about living, but not the exhilarating kind. It's about survival -- raw, real, by force of will. Read full review

Stanley Kauffmann

The film, directed almost with fierceness by Kevin Macdonald, is a wondrous recreation of that physical adventure. The most profound element, the moral crux, is skimped, but I kept wondering, not so much about the actors who were playing Simpson and Yates, as about the cameramen who were photographing them on that icy face, possibly suspended while they were doing it. Read full review

Liam Lacey

It's also mysterious in fresh ways. Like Hillary, Yates and Simpson climbed the mountain because it was there -- but what strange deity sent down a Boney M song to help Joe Simpson get home? Read full review

David Edelstein

It's true that the movie, arrested between documentary and drama, doesn't quite do justice to either medium: The actors playing Joe and Simon don't have anything like "lines" to simulate "drama," or even just "conversation," while the real guys often fall back on bland English understatement. Read full review

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User Reviews

emirbud

Mar 18, 2015

Watch it. It's an inspiration. I just hope at least 90% of it is actually true. I loved it. I have to write some more to meet the review length requirement. There we go.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RoryM.

Oct 26, 2005

Before watching the film I was put off by the fact that it was going to be a documentary. This, I thought, is going to be really boring. Hell was I wrong; the

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AliC

Dec 7, 2005

Touching the Void was very nearly a Sally Field-sponsored, Tom Cruise-starring Hollywood blockbuster (Tom wanted the part of Joe). Thank the lord it wasn't. One of the great cinematic experiences, and the best climbing film ever, this is also a powerful exploration of humanity, that Touching the Void was very nearly a Sally Field-sponsored, Tom Cruise-starring Hollywood blockbuster (Tom wanted the part of Joe). Thank the lord it wasn't. One of the great cinematic experiences, and the best climbing film ever, this is also a powerful exploration of humanity, that cannot fail to move anyone who watches it. Joe Simpson is a deeply erudite and thoughtful person, and I guess we are all perversely fortunate that such a ghastly experience should happen to someone with his capacity for reflection and emotional expression. Life changing, shocking and profoundly moving.… Expand

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lasttimeisaw

May 21, 2013

This highly-praised documentary from Scottish director Kevin Macdonald (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND 2006, 8/10, STATE OF PLAY 2009, 6/10), spunkily tackles the most inconceivable survival story in the mountaineering history, narrated by Joe Simpson and Simon Yates in propria persona of theirThis highly-praised documentary from Scottish director Kevin Macdonald (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND 2006, 8/10, STATE OF PLAY 2009, 6/10), spunkily tackles the most inconceivable survival story in the mountaineering history, narrated by Joe Simpson and Simon Yates in propria persona of their perilous conquest to the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985, while faithfully re-enacts what had happened during the lengthy 168 hours.

It is such an incredible and telling story which could eclipses Danny Boyle’s 127 HOURS (2010, 8/10), Joe’s destiny is as much indebted to his heaven-sent luck as his professional surviving skills and the tenacious willpower of staying alive. The talking-ahead forthrightness from Joe and Simon delineates their adventure in detailed nuance, carefully selected words without any bells and whistles, instantly brings audiences to the locale, we are fairly certain it is a mission impossible to do the copy-cat climbing and abseiling since it is unimaginable to transport a team of crew to accomplish such a chimera, still team Macdonald exerts formidable effort to show us what kind of beast Siula Grande is, a reverential task has been adroitly done and salute to the cameramen, two actors (Mackey and Aaron) and stunts.

The natural immenseness, the icy whiteness and the fearsome precipices are soul-engulfing, and the forlornness is overpowering even we all know they all outlive the unthinkable misadventure (I keep imagining in the end of the film, Macdonald would show us a frontal shot of Joe with one leg only or a prosthetic leg). Myself is never an extreme-sports advocate, putting one’s own life in jeopardy to pursue some kind of spiritual catharsis or mental orgasm (maybe physically as well) has never been on my agenda, notwithstanding which, the film fortuitously excels its reassuring ode of human strength and reaches a soul-searching incisiveness for every viewer to reflect on our regards of nature and life. When curiosity being satisfied, the film still imprints its indelible mark on the ectoplasm level, great work indeed!

The film’s 106 minutes running time seems rather short to me, when Joe finally reunites with Simon, the film also soon ends with succinct captions indicating their later life, which inevitably makes me wonder what is their rumination of that accident after the heaven-or-hell experience, I wish the film would be a bit longer to tap into that aspect, it would render us some revelation on a more humanized surface, then it would be an impeccable documentary feature for me. But anyway the film is the new entry of my top 10 BEST PICTURE in 2003, bravo!… Expand

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amurabim.

Sep 3, 2005

Drama? documentary? its biggest problem is that it can´t define itself.

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