Touching the Void

In 1985, two British climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, set out to climb the 20,000 foot Siula Grande in Peru. They succeeded in reaching the summit, but on the way down, things went horribly wrong, and Simon had to make a choice that has been debated bitterly in the climbing community ever since. This movie is a mix of interviews with the climbers (both of whom, against all odds, survived) and a recreation of the climb and descent (with two real climbers standing in for the young Yates and Simpson). The mountaineering footage is harrowing, and the reminiscences of Simpson and Yates--delivered in the calmest imaginable fashion--are almost unbearably poignant.