Touching The Void

Kevin Macdonald's documentary/ docudrama juxtaposes stunningly beautiful scenery and the nearly unbelievable true story of a mountain-climbing expedition gone awry to chilling effect. Macdonald's unusual narrative approach combines recent interviews with real-life climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, and dramatic recreations of their harrowing experience on Siula Grande, a previously unconquered peak in the Peruvian Andes. In 1985, the young but experienced mountain climbers set out to scale Siula Grande's 21,000-foot summit. Yates, 21, and Simpson, 25, were climbing Alpine style, tied together with thin ropes and ascending rapidly, carrying all their belongings ins...