Why you loved it
Documentaries like Free Solo
Free Solo is about a man climbing El Capitan without a rope, but people take two very different things from it: the obsession of a man who has to do this, or the fear of watching him do it. Here are both.
The 2 reasons people love Free Solo
Read them all. One will sound more like you than the others.
Obsession and mastery
This was your reason if…
- Alex's climbing journal fascinated you.
- You wondered what it costs to want something that much.
- His relationship with Sanni mattered to you.
Alex Honnold prepares for years, rehearsing every move on ropes and writing notes in a journal. The film is about what it takes to master something, and what it does to the people around you. If that's your reason, you want stories about total commitment.
Heart-in-mouth tension
This was your reason if…
- Your palms were sweating.
- The wide shots of the wall made your stomach drop.
- You knew he'd make it, and were still scared.
El Capitan is about 900 metres of granite, and the camera keeps showing how tiny he is against it. Even knowing the ending, the climb is almost unbearable to watch, and the film shows the crew's fear too. If this is your reason, you want true stories of danger that make your heart race.
Picks that share your reasons
The Walk2015
- Fear
- Obsession
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Philippe Petit, walking a wire between the Twin Towers. The same vertigo, as a crowd-pleasing film.
Everest2015
- Fear
The 1996 disaster on Everest, told as a big mountain drama.
127 Hours2010
- Fear
A climber trapped by a boulder in a Utah canyon. A true survival story, told as a film.
Whiplash2014
- Obsession
- Fear
A drummer pushed to his limits by a brutal teacher. The fictional version of wanting greatness at any cost.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011
- Obsession
An 85-year-old sushi master still chasing perfection. Obsession, quietly.
Man on Wire2008
- Fear
- Obsession
Philippe Petit's high-wire walk between the Twin Towers in 1974, told like a heist.
Touching the Void2003
- Fear
Two climbers in the Andes, a fall and an impossible survival. One of the most gripping mountain stories ever filmed.
Meru2015
- Fear
- Obsession
Jimmy Chin, who co-directed Free Solo, and two friends attempt a Himalayan route nobody had ever finished.
The Dawn Wall2017
- Obsession
- Fear
Two climbers spend weeks on the hardest route up El Capitan. The same wall, a different obsession.
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible2021
- Obsession
Nirmal Purja sets out to climb the world's fourteen highest mountains in record time.
Reasons and picks chosen by the Ipsomap team. This application uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.
That's one documentary.
Ipsomap does this with everything you watch. Write a few honest lines after each one, and it works out which reasons are yours, then finds picks that share them.
Find your reasons