Mountain-top documentary brings high drama

This powerful documentary is a horror story in the most frighteningly real way, set in the icy wilderness of a mountain on which, in 1985, climbers Simpson and Simon Yates battled to overcome a series of terrifying disasters.

Touching the Void

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Cert: 15

This powerful documentary, based on the book by Jo Simpson, is a horror story in the most frighteningly real way, set in the icy wilderness of a mountain on which, in 1985, climbers Simpson and Simon Yates battled to overcome a series of terrifying disasters.

The main dilemma faced by Yates over whether to cut his injured companion free in order to save his own life).

He does, but Simpson amazingly overcame a broken leg and clawed his painful way to safety.

This is a bitingly cold story told with compassion and peppered with breathtaking mountain-climbing scenes.

There is a strange beauty to mountains and a bravery most of us cannot understand among those who pit their courage against them.

Would you, then, sacrifice an injured friend to save your own life?

Yates seems to remain deeply troubled by the decision he made on that fateful day...and it is re-examined in this stunning film.

Star Rating: 4/5