On a rainy Sunday, after a long time, I thought of watching a movie. When I checked Amazon Prime, "Alpinist" was recommended, so I watched it without any prior knowledge. My impression was that I had come across a good movie after a long time. I believe both mountain climbing enthusiasts and those not interested in climbing will find this movie moving. It's a documentary that follows the Canadian mountaineer, Marc-André Leclerc, who was unfamiliar to me. Marc is different from the typical young people of today. He sometimes throws away his mobile phone, has no interest in broadcasting his summit records on SNS, and lives a life opposite to those seeking money and fame. He's like a world-weary hermit. His single-minded pursuit of reaching greater heights deeply resonates. Marc had ADHD in his childhood, but his mother, instead of forcing him to sit still in school, let him indulge in climbing, which he was interested in. With such support from his mother, I believe he grew into a young man who achieved such great feats. She's a kind and wise mother.
When I watched “Free Solo” with Alex Honnold, I was on the edge of my seat, but Marc climbs icefalls and mixed walls of snow, rock, and ice without a rope.
Watching him, I was anxious, thinking, “What if the ice cracks?” On top of that, he sometimes climbs with bare hands, making me wonder if he’s okay with frostbite. But it seems Marc has an astonishing physical ability and is considerably resistant to cold. Maybe the body structure of Japanese people is slightly different.
Climbing solo, enjoying conversations with the mountain, and climbing with a sixth sense, his attitude seems somewhat superhuman, almost like an alien.
Reinhold Messner also appeared in an interview.
Even if you live without interest in gaining fame, I think there are times when you achieve great feats but remain unknown to the world and end your life in obscurity.
“It’s not about the value of fame; there’s meaning in living to exist genuinely and proudly,” I felt Marc was conveying this message.
Truly, it was a great movie.
