Touching The Void is a true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, two climbers who climbed one of the only uncharted mountain territories in Peru.  The movie is told with documentary-style interviews as well as reenactments of the events.  The split is about 50/50.  Joe and Simon narrate the entire film through their interviews and you follow the climbers from base camp up the mountain and back again. 

The Freak's Rating: A : Courage is something everyone thinks they have.  When we see or hear about someone who faced something very difficult and persevered, we say to ourselves "I would have done that".  The fact is that you'll never know until you face it.  Many of us do not have the courage and strength it takes to overcome a situation.  This is what makes stories of amazing courage and strength all the more powerful.

Preface: I am not comparing the level of courage here to the film, only the personal experience of a courage-inducing experience.  Jen & I recently went to Jamaica and attempted scuba diving.  One of the training exercises we had to perform before we could go, was to have us regulate our ascent/descent by simply breathing.  The exercise did not take into account that someone might breathe deeper once out in the ocean, especially under difficult circumstances.  We boarded the boat and traveled about a mile out into the bay.  We did a backwards roll into the water and began our descent.  Once near the bottom, I noticed I had to point my head down more often than not and kick to keep myself down.  About 5-10 minutes into being down with the rest of our group, our instructor (Sugar) instructed us to release all air in our BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) and stand on the bottom.  I was unable to do it.  As I released all my air I continued to rise.  Sugar instructed me via signals on what to do and it wasn't working.  My counter-balance weights were too light to offset my heavy breathing, and as I began to panic a little the problem only became worse.  Deeper breaths were sending me faster to the surface and I knew I shouldn't be ascending that quickly.  Sugar instructed the rest of the group to hold position and then swam up to me.  He held onto me to keep me from ascending further.  My panicking increased, breaths deepened and exhales were so strong that water began to enter my mask.  As I tilted the mask backwards a little and breathed out through my nose to clear out the water, I blew too hard and more water entered.  I was only thirty feet down, but ascension in scuba is dangerous as little as 15 feet below the surface.  Nitrogen bubbles can become trapped in your lungs and cause decompression sickness.  Sugar gave me the signal asking if I wanted to quit.  Without thinking about it I signaled to stay.  I don't remember doing it, I just did.  It was one of the scariest moments in my life, I was freaking out a little and somehow I didn't want to give up.  I went back down with everyone else and once my balance came back (thanks to an additional weight Sugar put on), I was much better.  Immediately afterwards, my first instinct was to say that I failed and be disappointed with myself.  After we got back on shore I walked by the scuba hut and talked to Sugar for a few minutes.  He said he was proud of me for going back down and that 99 out of 100 times that happens people panic and want to quit.  He told me it took courage to do it, touched fists with me Jamaican-style and said "respect".  I guess I hadn't thought of it as a courageous thing at all.  To me it seemed like I completely failed, but looking back at the situation I honestly can't believe I stayed down.  I remember it all very clearly.  A minor story of courage in my life such as this one, makes me truly appreciate stories of people showing courage in a way 100 times more powerful than mine.

Touching The Void came onto my Netflix queue because of a top 100 list.  Every now and then Rotten Tomatoes has a top 100 list where they will list the best action movies, best romance movies or in this case the best sport movies.  Touching The Void, last I checked, was number 2 only to another movie I will review very soon, Offside. 

The story of Joe and Simon is legendary in the world of climbing.  At one point in the story, Simon has to make an extremely difficult decision.  Climbers have long since ridiculed Simon for choosing the way he did, but Joe stands by him.  After you see this film, you'll understand.  There isn't much else I can tell you about this film without giving a lot of it away.

It truly is an amazing story of courage and perseverance, told in a way that is conducive to the message of hope and survival.  A masterpiece of a film.

Lori's Rating: B : If you are looking for a feel good movie... this is not it.  I did really like the concept that if you put your mind to it you can do anything.  It is an amazing story that evokes a lot of feeling the whole movie through. 

Brian's Rating: A : This movie is incredible.  It is the type of movie that every single person can enjoy, and truly is riveting.  At one point in the movie, Joe makes a statement something along the lines of, "when it gets this desperate, and you are not looking for God, one realizes he truly does not believe in God".  I almost could not believe he would make a statement like this after somehow still being alive to make it to the next 1 in 100,000 chance in the next scene.  All I can say is, that is one devout atheist.  A "sports" movie?  Only in the loosest interpretation.  There is not a single sporting achievement that can even compare.  Not even Rudy.

Sebastian's Rating: A : i have had this movie for as long as i can remember, since it first came out. i have always loved this movie. i didnt quite understand it as a kid and today i love it even movie.

this is a movie for the whole family, it has action, suspense, and some pretty sad parts but all together its a great experience and i always love to watch this movie.
 

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