Size matters in Macdonald's 'Void'

Oscar-winning documentarian Kevin Macdonald's most recent and critically lauded film is an interesting blend of genres and styles, combining documentary narration with narrative recreation, in a similar vein to Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman's American Splendor. Touching the Void tells the incredible story of mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, whose extraordinary expedition into the Peruvian Andes has become a mountaineering legend. Offering indelible proof that fiction can't handle the truth, Simpson and Yates' story could only be captured by Macdonald's fusion of documentary and drama. For as a purely fictive film, Void would be utterly unbelievable to the point of being ridiculous, and yet, as a pure documentary, it could be little more than droning heads. However, combining the two, watching Simpson and Yates tell their story, watching their memories unfold into images, the audience is constantly reminded that regardless of the absurdity, this actually happened.\nAfter successfully climbing the previously unscaled west face of Siula Grande, Simpson and Yates begin their descent down the north face, and here their story begins. Shortly into the journey down, Simpson falls, shattering his right leg, the lower-leg bone being driven up through his knee-cap. Because the men practice a minimalist form of mountaineering called Alpine style, this is imminent doom and a fatalistic twist in destiny for both of them. Obviously, with the men telling their story, their fate is not unknown, and this could have left the film completely dull. Macdonald, though, tautly handles this, creating a film which continually turns the screw of suspense, the story not centering on if Simpson and Yates can survive, but how they will survive. Macdonald uses a variety of appropriate styles to capture the ever-escalating levels of intensity, moving from epic sweeping shots into a more cinéma vérité mode and finally becoming more experimental as Simpson begins to plunge into delusional insanity.\nTowards the center of the film, Touching the Void loses some of its momentum and there are moments when it feels like little more than a glorified Discovery Channel special. However, these moments are rare, with Macdonald quickly picking up the slack after Simpson's injury. Furthermore, this is inevitably the kind of film which loses its power as screen size is diminished. Something about scaling a twenty-some-thousand foot mountain down to a 20-inch screen seems to just suck the wonder right out of it, while watching this on a three-story IMAX screen would be a truly incredible experience. In the end, this is a great film which should be seen on the big screen, that is, if you're going to see it at all.