I recently watched Free Solo, an Oscar winning documentary about Alex Honnold, a professional rock climber, who climbed El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, on June 3rd, 2017. Alex Honnold has been rock climbing since he was 11, but did his first free solo mission in 2007. Honnold is a true thrill seeker, who has risked his life time after time to climb enormous feats without the use of ropes or a harness. The film truly captures the life of a fearless human being, and not only do we get to see his life as a rock climber, we learn more about his personal life and how he came to be. Honnold's girlfriend, Sanni McCandless, is the secret star of the film. She allows Alex to have a glimpse of what a normal life is supposed to be and helps him to connect with how he feels and channel his thoughts into words, which always has been something he struggled with. The film also allowed me to learn a lot more about rock climbing. Honnold and his team, including his close friend and rock climber, Tommy Caldwell, and his cameramen, explained the route that Honnold was going to take on El Cap, which made the film much more interesting/engaging.

The cinematography was one of the best parts of the film. It felt like I was 2,000 feet above the ground, with Alex, climbing the tallest piece of granite in the world. I found it was really cool that all of the cameraman that worked on the film were rock climbers. They had to actually be harnessed and attached to the wall, so that way they could be right there with Alex while he climbed. It just captured every aspect of his incredible feat, especially in the last 20 minutes of the film when he actually is scaling El Capitan, leaving the audience absolutely terrified. The film does a great job of properly showing the audience the exposition of this insane physical accomplishment. Another aspect I loved about the cinematography and what it captured was how much different Alex is than any other person. We see his lifestyle: living out of a van, eating food with a spatula, the way he interacts with people. What I found very touching was that saying “I love you” to his girlfriend at the end of the film felt almost like more of an accomplishment to him than being the best free-soloist in the world. It also made me sad, that such normal things like human interaction and showing affection to the ones you love is so foriegn to him. The portrayal of his character and who he is, made the movie so much more enjoyable to watch. We were able to relate to him, despite our clear differences we have compared to Alex. The shots in the film were also very well composed. A lot of interview shots of Alex weren’t just him sitting behind a woodsy background. He would be lying sideways in his bed and would be answering questions, or sitting, eating his dinner from a frying pan, and casually letting out his emotions to the camera. The rawness of the composition of the film made it just more enticing and unique for me as a viewer. 

Overall, I would highly recommend this film. It showed me what it is really like to be an American hero, in a sport that most people do not normally gravitate towards. It displayed how a simple yet ground-breaking person can be so vulnerable and simple, in his ways of life, yet face something so difficult and complex. If you are interested in anything related to action sports mixed with pure entertainment, this documentary he's just for you.