The theme is in the title – Progression. Chris Sharma pushes to establish a new level of sport climbing in Spain, and with his Clark Mountain “Jumbo Love” project. Patxi Usobiaga fights to stay on top of the IFSC circuit even as he becomes one of the oldest men in the field, and Johanna Ernst tries out her mettle as one of the youngest. Kevin Jorgenson pushes the standards of highball bouldering, and joins Alex Honnold and Matt Segal to take on the mythical English Gritstone. Daniel Woods and Paul Robinson try themselves against testpieces in Rocklands, South Africa and establish some of their own, joined by Tommy Caldwell who is developing his power for ongoing big wall objectives in Yosemite.
I’ve chosen to review Progression first, since it is one of my very favorite films, and the one I am most likely to show in a crowd that is not all climbers. Its feature length covers a wide cast of characters across a wide variety of disciplines, and contains another films worth of footage in the bonus features – close to three hours of footage with something for everyone. Time is spent developing the background and motivations of each of the featured climbers, and building the background and mystique of each filming location. The soundtrack is well chosen to represent each filming location, but isn’t ever-present or so loud it drowns out the effort of the climbers. The entire film isn’t serious business either – showing the occasional after-party, prank, or campfire confessional round.
What I like most about this film is that it shows, not the darker side per se, but the human side of climbing. Even at the highest levels; sometimes training nonstop doesn’t pay off, sometimes you get monster flappers, sometimes you get pumped, and sometimes the pressure to send, both self imposed and because all eyes are on you, can frustrate you nearly to tears. Seeing that everyone, even the best climbers in the world, can fail isn’t in itself motivating. Seeing that they can persevere in the face of those failures and come out the other side successful in pushing the bar up another notch, is.
VERDICT: Buy It
Filmed By: Big Up
Availability: Buy It Here
THE WHO:
Featured Climbers: Chris Sharma, Adam Ondra, Paxti Usobiaga, Johanna Ernst, Kevin Jorgenson, Alex Honnold, Matt Segal, Daniel Woods, Paul Robinson, Tommy Caldwell
Also Appearing (climbing or not): Boone Speed, Randy Leavitt, Noah Kaufmann, Beth Rodden, Ramón Julián Puigblanque, David Lama, Maja Vidmar, Chris McNamara, Lynn Hill, Neil Grimes, Wills Young, Matt Wilder, Alex Johnson, Kevin Daniels, Ivan Green
THE WHEREWHAT:
Rocklands, South Africa
– 20 is the New 30
– Amandala
– Black Shadow
– Brown Shadow
– Derailed
– El Corazon
– The Hatchling
– Mooiste Meisie
– Pinotage
– Power of One
– Quintessential
– Ray of Light
– Shoshaloza
– Sky
– Splash of Red
Oliana, Spain
– Pachamama
– Papiculo
Margalef, Spain
– Demencia Senil
– Gancho Perfecto
– First Round First Minute
Peak District, UK
– Gaia
– End of the Affair
– Kaluza Klein
– The Groove
– Meshuga
– Equilibrium
– The Promise
Clark Mountain, USA
-Jumbo Love
Bishop CA, USA
– The Swarm
– Luminance
– Ambrosia
– The Ninth
– Evilution (to the lip)
– Flight of the Bumblebee
– This Side of Paradise
– Mesothelioma
Yosemite CA, USA
– Magic Mushroom
– Dawn Wall
Eldorado Canyon CO, USA
– Smart Went Crazy
The Gunks NY, USA
– Greater Than
– Ideas are Bulletproof
– Steppin Razor
– The Turtle
Reviewer: Justin Meserve