Fine Lines

This documentary gets you thinking about what it means to have purpose in life and what following your dreams means, risks and all. You don't need to be a climber or enamoured by alpinism or extreme sports to find so much meaning in this beautifully crafted film. Best documentary I've seen in a very long time.

A fantastic film any climbing enthusiast will enjoy. It is not your typical climbing documentary where you follow a climber on their adventure overcoming some impossibly hard route. Instead, this is 20 of the most recognizable faces from all disciplines of the sport (Alex Honnold, Adam Ondra, Lynn Hill, etc) each having a very open conversation about some of the most difficult aspects of climbing. Topics range from their draws to climbing, the inherent risk in the sport, a very real look at death, the drawbacks of social media on professionals lives, and far more.

Many may be turned off by a climbing documentary without a specific mountain to be overcome, but it is a fantastic glimpse into how these amazing athletes view some incredibly difficult questions often not considered. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in climbing in any way.

This film is amazing and powerful! It wasn't what I was expecting when I decided to watch it.( I purchased the full version from Amazon Prime.) I have been climbing a very different metaphorical mountain. I have been battling multiple chronic illnesses that have gotten worse over time. I spend most days in bed, and when I do leave my house it's often in a wheelchair. What I hoped to get from the film was stunning scenery that I will never be able to personally witness, and powerful stories of people that I could never hope to be like. What I found was so much deeper and more meaningful. It actually reminded me that strength doesn't always look like you expect it to. I am physically weak, in some ways, ; I can take a lot of pain and have to know when to push and when to listen to my body to slow down , just like a climber might have to decide that they've given that climb their all, and they will have to start again. The mental struggle is the hardest. It can be very lonely. When I think about how many times I thought I was reaching the top of my own mountain, only to have set backs I now remember I am not weak. I am a fighter. When I am having a hard day I rewatch some or all of the movie. I feel a connection to these people that I can't explain. I hope that especially during these difficult times everyone can see a bit of their own strength and resilience. Either determination and willpower that they forgot that they had or that they newly discovered.

I had no idea about this until today and gave it a watch. I've had the privilege to spend some time in the mountains now and even some with the folks in this film. I've watched friends take big ones in front of me and had some close calls in there too. I give it a 10 on the caveat that, when the right person at the right time maybe for the right reasons watches this it will land like nothing else out there.

Nothing I've seen gets as close to drawing out the real nuances available in endeavors such as these, through the eyes of the people who have walked the mile. I don't think it's a question of which is better, Free Solo, Dawn Wall, or this.

Each are equally remarkable in their own right, each, for the first time, took the whole world along along with them. Each makes the other better and adds to the narrative.

Tommy nails one late in a film that in whole is a sum of quotable content when he says, "we're no longer focused on what we're doing, we're focused on the story we're going to tell as we're doing it. We have the privilege to inspire in a way that we never could in the past. But, I feel like there's a loss...walk that balance delicately."

It's like we got Tommy on The Dawn Wall and we get a meta Dawn Wall Tommy here * 20. A better question might be, what's next and who is next?

I have watched over 30 films on climbing, and this by far is my favourite. Much care went into this immensely inspirational documentary which included athletes/legends that spanned generations. Unlike other films in this genre which take on the same format of following the protagonist and their "adventure"(Meru, Free solo, Dawn Wall and dozen others ) this film stands out because it delves into their psyche and is for those who enjoy being contemplative and thinking about the "why's" of life. It's not at all sport centric and deeply meditative. They hit on topics you don't usually hear them talk about. Brilliantly done, and have watched more than once.