Extreme sports is a general term for non-mainstream sports that require high movement difficulty and have a certain degree of risk. Due to the differences in geographical environment and cultural customs, in China, the popularization of extreme sports knowledge and audience participation are still very limited. But in the United States and some European countries, the popularity of extreme sports among young people can even be described as "fanatic".
There are also many film works with extreme sports as the theme. For example, the "Fast and Furious" series, the "Violence Block" series, and the "Golden Thieves" series, which are steadily rising at the box office, are all important commercial films about extreme sports. Especially in "The Thief", the protagonists are omnipotent on the big screen, showing the "cool culture" contained in extreme sports to the fullest.
Today I’m going to talk about a documentary about extreme sports, "Free Solo" (Free Solo) that is more exciting than a commercial feature film. This film recently won the 91st Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film. It is also after "The Tightrope Walker" ten years ago, the documentary on extreme sports challenges has once again won the Oscar for best documentary feature.
Rock climbing is one of the most dangerous events in extreme sports challenges. At the beginning of the 1970s, rock climbing was officially developed as an independent sport. Due to the influence of the geographical environment, American rock climbing enthusiasts rank first in the world, and rock climbing has naturally become one of the iconic events of American extreme sports.
The film "Freehand Rock Climbing" records the most important event in the history of American rock climbing so far: the world's top rock climber Alex Honnold used freesoloing (also known as unprotected solo rock climbing). Way, successfully climbed to the top of El Capitan, the largest granite boulder in the United States.
Alex Hannold, born in 1987, spent his childhood in Sacramento, California, USA. Hannold’s parents taught non-native English courses in university educational institutions. Hannold, who grew up in a family environment with a strong academic atmosphere, did not follow his parents’ educational career. He showed it since he was a child. Interest and talent for climbing high places. From the age of 10, Hannold, who was supported by his parents, began training in the climbing gym. His father would even accompany Hannold to other parts of California to participate in rock climbing competitions.
The obsession with rock climbing made 19-year-old Hannold resolutely drop out of college and officially started a wandering career accompanied by steep cliffs and RVs. Since the Moonlight Buttress became famous in 2008, Hornold has repeatedly broken the existing free rock climbing records and is a legendary figure worshipped by modern extreme sports enthusiasts.
The film "Freehand Rock Climbing" records the whole process of Hannold's hand climbing in 2017, the famous American rock climbing mecca, Emirates Rock. The whole movie sorts out Hannold's many years of preparations for climbing the Emirates Rock. During this period, he had to give up several times because of his physical condition and psychological pressure.
Until June 3, 2017, Hannold reached the summit of Emirates Rock with a record of 3 hours and 56 minutes, becoming the first person in history to climb the Emirates Rock by hand, and finally completed a goal that has never been achieved by generations of rock climbing enthusiasts.
Nowadays, rock climbing is already a career for Honnold to make a living. He has participated in related documentary filming many times, wrote his rock climbing experience into a book, established a charity foundation to help poverty-stricken areas in Africa, and also exchanged support for his rock climbing career. Intimate girlfriend.
The high risk of extreme sports has discouraged countless people who are interested in it, especially for free-standing rock climbing. This extreme sport with a mortality rate of more than 50% requires not only the participants to have sufficient physical fitness, but also sufficient accurate judgment and high concentration of attention. Even Honnold himself, who has extensive climbing experience and physical exercises, has failed and injured due to misjudgment and inattention during the trial climbing process.
In 1993, the body of the famous rock climber Derek Hersey was found in Yosemite Valley. In 2009, the pioneer of free-hand rock climbing, John Bachar, fell off a cliff and died. There are also Dan Osman, Sean Leary, Dean Potter, Ueli Steck... due to various reasons during rock climbing The number of rock climbers who fell to their deaths is numerous.
For unarmed rock climbers, rock climbing means death is waiting for them at any time. Only when rock climbers are fully psychologically prepared, that is, when they are fully aware of death, can they start a new journey. Free-hand rock climbing is not only an extremely dangerous extreme sport, it is also an art about the body and the aesthetics of death.
The film "Freehand Rock Climbing" is directed by Jin Guowei, a well-known Chinese extreme sports enthusiast and senior photographer, and his wife Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi) who is also Chinese. This time it is between them and the US A successful collaboration with National Geographic Channel.
Prior to this, Jin Guowei and his wife had also filmed the famous outdoor documentary "Climbing Meru" (Meru), which won an independent documentary award in the United States and is a model of mountaineering documentary. It can be said that the Oscar of "Free Rock Climbing" is largely related to the professional filming team led by Jin Guowei.
Among the five best documentary films nominated by this year’s Oscars, three are the most competitive. In addition to "Free Rock Climbing", which has already won the best documentary film, there are also new director Liu Bing, who is also of Chinese descent. "Skate Boy" and "RBG" by Ginsberg, a female judge focusing on the U.S. Supreme Court. The competition is even more suspenseful than the Oscar's drama category awards.
Liu Bing’s "Skate Boy" records the lives of three young people (the three protagonists are white, Asian and African) who grew up in an unhappy family environment. Works of reflection. The film has won numerous awards since its screening at Sundance, and it is undoubtedly one of the most watched documentaries last year.
As an American feminist social activist and a well-known liberal judge in the United States, Ruth Bud Ginsberg is undoubtedly an idol in the minds of feminists. "RBG" traces the contribution of this old man to the cause of equal rights in his life, and is a window for non-American audiences to understand the history of American feminism. At a time when the popularity of the me too feminist movement caused by the Weinstein scandal is not fading, it seems that Oscars are more likely to burst into such a socially timely documentary.
Compared with the social significance of "Skate Boy" and "RBG", "Free Rock Climbing", which focuses purely on sports events, does not have the advantage of winning the Oscar. However, the Oscar for "Freehand Rock Climbing" seems to be a side demonstration of the college's sense of identity with the American tough guy spirit conveyed by this work, and it also praises Hannold's brilliant achievements and human will.
Author | Carlos's Three Trees; Public Number | Watching a movie to see death
Edit | Riding a Rooftop Boy; please indicate the source for reprinting
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