“I’m up here with my little rope, and I see a spider up here with his little rope. And I think I’m all tough until this lizard cruises by, does a few pushups, and keeps going”
Ron Kauk. If you don’t know who that is, go read a book, Or watch Valley Uprising.
Return to Balance is a unique film – its about appreciation for nature, and specifically Yosemite, and while Ron is best known as a valley climber, this is no Valley Uprising.
Lets cut to the chase – there are many types of climbing film, from story-driven documentaries, to self-aggrandizing biopics, to what we frequently (and crudely) call ‘climbing porn’ – no narration, no story, just tunes and sends. This film fits none of these genres. It is nothing but 50 minutes of absolutely gorgeous shots, some of climbing, but mostly of nature. It’s also nearly devoid of straight audio from the shots themselves, instead packed with voiceover and music.
While there is inspirational music almost constantly (guitar and flute), what stands out in this film is the narration. Ron waxes poetic about everything. Climbing, moving meditation, natural history, water, birds, frogs, waterfalls, trees, you name it. Throughout all of the narration, its clear that Ron is one thing above all else – thankful. It’s an absolute privilege to be in that space, and to engage with it the way that he does, and he knows it. It implores the viewer to slow down, look closely, listen, and appreciate the world around them, whether that’s Yosemite or not. To stay humble. In that way, it’s honestly not a climbing film. It’s a film that features a climber, climbing from time to time, but is more an hour’s worth of appreciation and thoughtfulness.
I’ll be honest, I give a lot of latitude to this film because it is Ron Kauk (The guy did the FA of the most famous boulder problem in the world!). It’s not my preferred film genre, and hearing climbers pontificate about the beauty of nature tends to ring either overwrought, or as the musings of one too-stoned-to-function. 99/100 times, I can’t stand the quiet, contemplative, yoga-calm ramblings, and as I watched this I kept repeating “I’m not high enough for this” – but damn it when its an OG Stonemaster talking, you listen.
Verdict: Borrow It. It’s good for a watch. If you’re the peaceful type that likes to contemplate the interwoven workings of the world, it might be worth buying your own copy, but the antsy\angsty\aggro amongst us will probably only be able to sit still through it once.
