The docu-film on Destivelle...
What can I say, perfect... it isn't even a docu-film, it is certainly not a film, it is a completely different way of presenting the mountains: it is simply a video trip report.
Made with superb skill and cinematographic technique. Perfect photography, perfect film stock, perfect colour saturation, breathtaking shots. Dizzying panoramic glimpses...
Of course, to the attentive eye the video looks a bit staged, perhaps someone would even say a bit fake, but the truth is that it achieves its aim: it fires you up and draws you in. And if that isn't a proper aim, what should one be?
You are drawn into Destivelle's tactile, climbing experience. It makes you want to climb...
The story of this great climber is quite unusual. No competition, no media visibility, just the pleasure of going up into the mountains for the sake of it. That's all... just the pleasure of being there, of living with lucidity and mental clarity the moment of the climbing move, whether on the perfect granite of the Petit Capucin or on the ice of the North Face of the Aiguille Verte.
This mental clarity, this sincere passion of Destivelle's is perhaps the most attractive magic of her way of going to the mountains. Nothing more, nothing less than climbing with simple naturalness.
A beautiful document, a beautiful stimulus, an excellent prompt for reflection on how to live mountain-going with greater lightness (without competition, without the need for media visibility).
It would be pointless to add more words to a video that just has to be watched and savoured with patience.
If you like mountain films, also read our review of La Voie Bonatti.
Who we recommend this film to
We recommend it first of all to those who climb or are thinking of starting: the images convey well the contact with the rock face and the difference between climbing on rock, as on the granite of the Petit Capucin, and on ice, as on the North Face of the Aiguille Verte. But it is also good viewing for those who go to the mountains on foot and are looking for a way of being there far from performance and competition.
Don't expect a full biography or a story rich in dialogue and behind-the-scenes details: it is a film to watch calmly, even several times, letting yourself be guided by the images. Those who want to explore the relationship between the great mountaineers and the mountains further can go on to the portrait of who Walter Bonatti was.