The Alpinist: A Brief Review

The Alpinist is the biggest climbing film since Free Solo, reaching real theaters and streaming on video services like Amazon and Apple TV… it begs the question: is it worth the hype?

Yes. Times two. 

Marc Andre is awesome! But who on earth is he? After years of reticence we finally get to hear him tell his story. Not just his climbing life, but how his childhood influenced who he was.

The storytelling is good, but the climbing is amazing. Leclerc’s solo of the Stanley Headwall gives even a boulderer some justice of how mind boggling his ascents were. The opening scenes of him soloing The Grand Wall showcase his beautifully precise style.

The Alpinist does lull in the middle, when Marc Andre falls off the radar. But this showed his personality. To have a pure experience, he felt that he needed to have it himself, without a camera crew swarming him. While I would’ve loved more footage of Mt. Robson and Torre Egger, it gave me a sense of who Leclerc was. 

The slump ends with the climax: Marc Andre’s death. In its aftermath, the filmmakers did a beautiful job of showing the value of the relationships he had.

My favorite part of the whole movie is that it makes you question your lifestyle… it’s existential elements bring the thought: am I living how I want to live and in a way that I value?

Please, for your own good, watch The Alpinist!