This movie is essentially a documentary about two mountain climbers who take on the 21,000 foot Siula Grande Peak in the Peruvian Andes. It is an incredible story, a classic man versus nature tale with a riveting spelunking explorer-type dilemma that is literally told by the only the three people who witnessed it (the two climbers plus their friend who stayed at the base camp) in interview format. The movie also has dramatic re-enactments filmed on location. Believe it or not, the combo really works: the story is so dramatic that, at points, the film has no choice but to focus on the narrators faces alone in order to avoid suspension of disbelief by the audience. The re-enactments are not overstated or superfluous because of the technical nature of mountain climbing, which would not be obvious to a lay person, as well as the stunning views of the Andes, which inspire both awe and fear. In short, it is an amazing story plus a pseudo Planet Earth experience. The film also makes clear from the start that all three of the narrators lived (as they are interviewed), which I initially thought was annoying because I did not know anything about the film and wanted suspense (otherwise, it is just a movie about guys that climb a mountain, right?). But in hindsight, I think it was appropriately thematic because the story is really about survival, not tragedy. This is suspenseful enough in this case because, at some points during the movie, you simply cannot believe that someone lived to tell this story and can only bite your nails as you watch. In the end, you are struck by the amazing resilience of the human spirit and body (and may be left feeling slightly pathetic for not hitting the gym more often).
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