Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageTouching the Void (2003)
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Macdonald's absorbing and spectacular adaptation of Joe Simpson's extraordinary bestseller recounts the story of climbers Simpson and Simon Yates' desperate attempt on the unconquered Andean mountain Siula Grande. Narrated by the principals, and with actors as stand-ins for the re-enactment, it will fascinate climbing enthusiasts; but further, as a meditation on extreme human endeavour, character, friendship and the mysteries revealed by facing death, it provides much food for thought. Visually, the film is a treat. With its long shots of tiny figures traversing the dread beauty of the storm-battered peaks, it at times resembles a nature documentary. Here is the mountain as antagonist; its life-threatening obstacles described, with habitual sang froid, in the lovely mountaineers' language of cornices, glissades and spindrifts. Aurally, the accompaniment to the quick ascent is the clanking, splintering sounds of metal on ice and hoary breaths; and Simpson's descent into horror in the deep crevasse is made more eerie by the use of subdued leopard growls on the soundtrack.Author: WH
Cast & crew
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Producer: John Smithson
Cast: Joe Simpson, Simon Yates, Richard Hawking, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron, Ollie Ryall full cast
Genre(s): Documentaries
Rated: 15
Duration: 106 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now