Free Solo

Movie Documentary 🎥 Review: “Free Solo". Critics gave it a 98% the users an 95%. Rated: PG 13 with a running time of 1 hr and 40 mins with an IMDb of 8.6/10. 

NOTE: Watch the trailer before you read below!

Professional rock climber Alex Honnold attempts to conquer the first free solo climb of famed El Capitan's 900-metre vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park.

Free Solo is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. The film profiles rock climber Alex Honnold, on his quest to perform a free solo climb of El Capitan in June 2017. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018 and also screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People's Choice Award: Documentaries. It was released in the United States on September 28, 2018, received positive reviews from critics.

The film received numerous accolades, including being nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards.

In the film, the director Jimmy Chin and his crew struggled on camera with how to film and not affect Honnold’s climb. According to Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, the key to solving this problem was in the extended preparation.

One of the hardest problems was getting sound from Honnold, who often was too far from the camera to use wireless mics. Meanwhile, the wiring of the mic couldn’t interfere with his climbing, and any recorder on his body would need to withstand the rigors of climbing. To solve the problem, they turned to production sound recordist Jim Hurst, who was a climber himself. He utilized a recorder that could transmit a signal to the camera, but also record to itself when the camera was out of range. The film was made by National Geographic.

In the very beginning of the movie, we see Alex in the later stage of that climb, and the images immediately will cause you to gasp. If you are afraid of heights (suffer from vertigo), you’re going to experience the scenes like you are right there with him. The filming is intense and really makes you feel the danger of the climb.

This movie shows the humanity, insanity, and personal struggle for perfection it takes to do things that no one else has done and few to none have tried to accomplish. Possible the best movie I have ever seen in terms of drawing you in, keeping a strangle hold on your attention, and not just rushing to the juicy parts but letting you savor the journey. Alex Honnold you are an inspiration to the world. Never stop.

I absolutely loved this film and found myself looking away at times of intensity during the climb. This film is ONLY showing at the AMC Chattanooga 18 in the IMAX theater (which makes it even better).

I highly recommend you don’t miss this film - it’s not your usual documentary!. Just look at the Critics and Users ratings at the top of the page…..that says it all!!