Opis:
In The Beckoning Silence, Joe Simpson--whose amazing battle for survival featured in the multi-award winning "Touching the Void"--travels to the treacherous North Face of the Eiger to tell the story of one of mountaineering's most epic tragedies. As a child, it was this story and that of one of the climbers in particular, that first captured Simpson's imagination and inspired him to take up mountaineering.
Toni Kurz was a brilliant young mountaineer, who along with three other climbers tried to climb the mountain in 1936, which was then the last great unconquered peak in the Alps. Their assault on the mountain started well, but then disaster struck. One by one Kurz's colleagues were killed, leaving him alone, hanging on the end of a rope fighting for his life in the most horrific of circumstances. Over 50 years later in Peru, Kurz's story haunted Simpson as he battled for his own survival while hanging in mid-air. His plight uncannily mirrored that of Kurz--except, against all the odds, Simpson lived whilst his hero had perished.
The Beckoning Silence tells the story of Kurz's heroic battle for survival, but in the process it also forces Simpson to confront a fundamental question: why continue climbing when you have come so close to oblivion? In this gripping, action-packed adventure film with a difference, Simpson finally confronts his demons on the Eiger's North Face, and rediscovers the thrill of the climb that once made him feel so alive.
In this fascinating documentary charting Joe Simpson's obsession with mountaineering, the beckoning silence is the long drop from the top of the mountain. The film was made on location at the North Face of the Eiger with a re-enactment of the ill fated 1936 attempt on the face by modern mountaineers with period equipment. This is the story from Heinrich Harrer's mountaineering classic 'The White Spider' which inspired Joe to climb. Interwoven with the history, Joe climbs selected pitches with modern gear. This part of the film is spectacular and worth the viewing, but the voiceovers and Joe's talking head, as he discusses the role of fear and the motivations for taking such extreme risks, is really excellent. Joe's cold unflinching analysis of some areas intimately linked with obvious self deception in others is absolutely absorbing. After 30 years of seeing an average of one friend per year die in the mountains, and his own close shaves, not least the 4 day crawl documented in his first book, 'Touching the Void', Joe is now less keen on walking the knife edge between adventure and stupidity. I think that's good, he's a fine writer and we wouldn't want to lose him.
In The Beckoning Silence, Joe Simpson--whose amazing battle for survival featured in the multi-award winning "Touching the Void"--travels to the treacherous North Face of the Eiger to tell the story of one of mountaineerings most epic tragedies. As a child, it was this story and that of one of the climbers in particular, that first captured Simpsons imagination and inspired him to take up mountaineering.
Toni Kurz was a brilliant young mountaineer, who along with three other climbers tried to climb the mountain in 1936, which was then the last great unconquered peak in the Alps. Their assault on the mountain started well, but then disaster struck. One by one Kurzs colleagues were killed, leaving him alone, hanging on the end of a rope fighting for his life in the most horrific of circumstances. Over 50 years later in Peru, Kurzs story haunted Simpson as he battled for his own survival while hanging in mid-air. His plight uncannily mirrored that of Kurz--except, against all the odds, Simpson lived whilst his hero had perished.
The Beckoning Silence tells the story of Kurzs heroic battle for survival, but in the process it also forces Simpson to confront a fundamental question: why continue climbing when you have come so close to oblivion? In this gripping, action-packed adventure film with a difference, Simpson finally confronts his demons on the Eigers North Face, and rediscovers the thrill of the climb that once made him feel so alive.
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