If nothing else I know that documentaries about mountain climbing will always feature spectacular scenery. This one not only doesn’t disappoint in this regard but even one of the scariest, most thrilling films I’ve watched so far this year. It really does make a difference when you know that what you see is real and not a carefully crafted simulation made in a special effects studio. It’s actually scary enough that it merits a warning and it rather successfully convinces you that Alex Honnold who is the climber featured here is borderline suicidal.

This documentary records Honnold’s project to be the first person to complete a free solo climb of the El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park. This means climbing by himself without the aid of ropes or any other protective equipment. Since the summit is over 900 meters tall, this means that a single mistake would be fatal. The film also covers some of Honnold’s background and personal life. He frankly admits that he has a high chance of dying, yet it’s so important to him that he would always choose climbing above any girl for example. Yet the film also covers him getting together with Sanni McCandless, apparently his first long-term girlfriend. Another interesting aspect is that one of the directors Jimmy Chin also comments about the production of this film itself and how they are perfectly aware that they might end up capturing Honnold falling to his death on film. As such they take measures to film in only the ways that Honnold is comfortable with and are very careful not to distract him.

There are some slow moments in the film. The interview with his mother and their discussion about his deceased father is ordinary stuff that doesn’t shed much light into his character. Similarly his interactions with McCandless has a reality show quality which feels a little too intrusive and it’s hard to tell how much of that is put up just for filming purposes. More intriguing is when they film him getting his brain scanned with an MRI machine as a journalist to see if his brain was any different from other people. It turns out that he seems to need a higher level of stimulation to be excited than most people and indeed Honnold does seem like a remarkably calm and collected person. Even when he finally reaches the summit, instead of shouting and jumping for joy, he merely sits down and comments about how delighted he is. It suggests that it is absolutely true that he only feels himself and truly alive when he is not just climbing but climbing while putting his life on the line.

Of course, the best parts of the film are in the climbing itself. I love how much detail goes into describing the precise route Honnold plans on taking and it’s astounding how every handhold, twist of the body and foothold is accounted for. It points out the most problematic spots on the route where a foothold may be no more than a rough smudge on the rock or require ridiculous contortions of the body. By contrast you get the feeling that shimmying the long vertical cracks in the rock face seems like an easy straight shot for him. The level of fitness and preparation is simply inhuman. The scenery and photography is every bit as good as you could have hoped for and when the climbers fall while doing their practice runs with ropes, you can almost feel your heart stop in your chest. When you see Honnold blindly reaching around a corner to get over a rock while the forested landscape stretches out far below, it’s hard to shake the sense that this is something that man was never meant to do, yet here he is doing it.

Before watching this, my impression of Honnold’s attempt is that it’s something of an ego trip. After all, he can always climb it safely using rope and proper equipment so what’s the point of doing it without? But once I actually watched him climb, I understood how it’s a completely different experience. Without the ropes, other equipment or needing to cooperate and take turns with a partner, he can go much faster and more naturally, as if he were just on a stroll. There’s something almost transcendental in it being just him against the mountain. This still isn’t a healthy or even sane activity by any measure and I feel truly sorry for his loved ones who must accept that he may die at any time. But this is a man who knows what he wants and this is fantastic documentary for letting us outsiders understand this kind of obsession.