If there was one genre in particular that 2015 excelled in, it would be documentaries. Every year there seems to be a standout or two, but this year the documentary category is loaded with worthy competitors. We’ve compiled the very best documentaries from this year, spanning a wide range of topics from prolific musicians, the War on Drugs, mountain climbing, sleep paralysis, and societal pressures of marriage in traditional Indian culture. Some are told in unconventional ways while others explore unique subjects, but all of these films contain riveting storytelling. The following documentaries are all worth checking out if you haven’t done so already.

Way Too Indie’s Best Documentaries of 2015

Amy

I tend to feel a ping of skepticism whenever a biographical documentary is made about a deceased pop culture persona so soon after their death. It’s hard not to assume it may be exploitive or disingenuous. So I had my doubts going into Amy even knowing Asif Kapadia had already proven himself a worthy documentary filmmaker. What unfolds is perhaps unsurprising, Amy Winehouse’s fame and death being as public as they were, but Amy isn’t the story you think it will be. Instead of yet another tragic addiction-led death of a young and talented star, the film uses the personal footage taken by Amy and her friends to reveal a young woman affected less by fame and more by the ill-intentioned people around her. The same psychology and personal trauma that inspired Winehouse’s remarkable music and fueled her soulful performances is what ultimately broke her heart and led to her death. What makes this stand out as a spectacular documentary is how expertly Kapadia turns the mirror around to show that the public spotlight thrust on Winehouse, and the rather transparent extent of her personal troubles, implies an amount of guilt on her fans and the public. It calls into question larger thoughts on the impact of our habits as consumers on other people’s lives, the sort of existential provocation only the best documentaries can produce. [Ananda]

Bending Steel

You haven’t heard of Bending Steel, but lucky you: I’ve seen it, I loved it, and I’m here to tell you about it. This weird, dark, startlingly profound documentary follows Chris Schoek, a hermetic New Yorker whose dream is to become a Coney Island strongman, like those bald, bulky, mustachioed guys you’ve seen on vintage freakshow posters. Chris doesn’t fit the bill—he’s lean, soft-spoken and shrivels up in front of a crowd—but he can bend metal with his bare hands, which is pretty amazing. The film tracks his progress as he works on his technique and learns to be a true performer, but the truly special moments involve Chris confessing his distaste for human contact, a troubling trait that may have developed as a result of his tragic relationship with his cold, unsupportive parents. As chilling a character portrait as I’ve seen all year. [Bernard]

Cartel Land

If Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario offers a slick, thrilling look at the bleak and despairing world of the War on Drugs, then Matthew Heineman’s Cartel Land can act as the gritty, real-world side of the same coin. Cartel Land follows two fronts of the drug war, but from the perspective of frustrated citizens instead of government officials: Arizona Border Recon head Tim Foley, and Jose Mireles, the leader of a vigilante group who fight off cartel gangs from taking over villages. Heineman keeps his focus on Mireles for the large majority of Cartel Land, mainly because it’s a remarkable story. Heineman captures incredible footage on the ground, getting in the middle of firefights and showing the intense pressure of living in the cartel wars on a daily basis, and at the same time observes Mireles’ group getting poisoned by the same interests that ensure chaos reigns at the border. Cartel Land is riveting, dark stuff, and its uncompromising look at the drug war as an out of control nightmare is some of the most important filmmaking to come out of 2015. [C.J.]

In Jackson Heights

With age comes experience, understanding, and a widened scope of the world around you. For all the exceptional documentaries Frederick Wiseman has been making since the ’60s, there is a weighted atmosphere in his latest one that could easily mark it as his magnum opus, because of all those things that come with age (Wiseman is 85 years old, by the way). In Jackson Heights is classic in how quickly three hours pass by; a kaleidoscopic look at a neighborhood in Queens, New York that boasts a record of 167 spoken languages. Though most of what you hear is Spanish and English, there’s a colorful enough array of characters from all walks of life that make the cultural hodgepodge the main anchor of the story. In another great year for documentaries, plenty of exaggerated praise drowns out the more humble and less sensationalist of the bunch. From these, Frederick Wiseman’s big-picture-perspective on the contortion and distortion of core, constitutional, American values stands tall. By letting the community of Jackson Heights speak its collective mind, most of the time during revealingly intimate moments, we become immersed with life itself. [Nik]

Listen to Me Marlon

Amy is rightfully regarded as one of the best documentaries of the year, but there is another doc with a similar approach that shouldn’t be overlooked. Listen to Me Marlon takes the recently discovered audio recordings made by legendary actor Marlon Brando and edits them into a look at his wonderful career and troubled inner-life. It doesn’t have the same large media aims as Amy, but perhaps gets more out of its complicated subject. With only the audio recordings to guide the story, it is among the most intimate artist bio-docs ever made. Listen to Me Marlon touches on some of the most crucial moments of Brando’s life, including his early rise as a superstar actor, his infamous Oscar win for The Godfather, and the tragic loss of his grown son. Due to his personal struggles and the bizarre film choices he made late in his life, Brando’s legacy has become easy to jeer, but Listen to Me Marlon is a beautiful tribute to the artist and the man, allowing his own words to tell his story and regain his humanity. [Aaron]

The Look of Silence

Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing is a more eye-catching and artistically adventurous than his follow-up, The Look of Silence, but steep yourself in the latter’s rhythm and atmosphere for its entirety and you’ll discover a movie that will haunt you, sit on your shoulders and whisper in your ear for a long, long time. Like its predecessor, the doc is filled with the stories of those affected by the Indonesian genocide of 1965-66, both perpetrators and victims. This time, we follow a man named Adi, who lost his brother to the slaughter and conducts a string of interviews with the men who were in charge of the mass killings. The stories are as shocking as they were in The Act of Killing, with Adi’s strength, forgiveness and dignity piercing the darkness like a beacon. Most affecting of all is the presence of the dead, who we feel through Oppenheimer’s evocative camerawork, which subtly suggests the deceased are watching Adi’s every move from behind the trees. [Bernard]

Meet the Patels

Easily the funniest documentary of 2015—and possibly even the most entertaining—belongs to Geeta and Ravi Patel’s Meet the Patels. The brother and sister duo document Ravi’s difficulties of getting back into the dating world after a long-term relationship fails. But this isn’t a one-note dating documentary. The situation gets complex (and more compelling) due to the clash between Ravi’s American upbringing and his family’s firm stance on traditional Indian culture, particularly the arranged marriage part. But rather than making the film on whether dating or arranged marriage is the best way to find a partner, Ravi gives both methods a fair try, and the results are hilarious. There’s humor found throughout due to Ravi’s comedic, down-to-earth personality, making Meet the Patels charming and a breeze to watch. It also benefits from remarkable editing, by cutting down a ton of home movie footage and combining it with unique animations that periodically replace talking head interviews. The documentary made a big impression on audiences and studio exeutives as well; Fox Searchlight acquired remake rights shortly after its release, and plans to turn it into a narrative feature. [Dustin]

Meru

It was a big year for the Himalayas on film. An amazing counterpart to the big budget epic Everest is the true story of a small group of adventure-seekers who looked to be the first to scale one of the massive mountain’s more difficult peaks. Stylistically, Meru doesn’t do anything we haven’t seen before in documentaries—cinematography of the Himalayas is no longer unique, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t just as breathtaking. It does, however, expertly highlight just how amazing their adventure is and, similarly, how extraordinary it is for them to capture it on film. Perhaps I was just supremely in tune with the film, but I found myself incredibly aware of the filmmaking process throughout the film. This makes the journey all the more impressive, given the limited supplies the group brings and the extreme nature of Meru’s specific ascent strategy. And then there is the story, which is properly intense and full of incredible twists and turns. Filmmakers Jimmy Chin (who is a member of the climbing trio) and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi fill in the appropriate backstories to build the climbers as actually interesting characters—this seems simple, but so many extreme climbing films struggle to do this properly. You will root for these characters, not just for the drama of their endeavor, but because the full scope of their human journeys is compelling both on and off the mountain. [Aaron]

The Nightmare

There are scenes from Rodney Ascher’s The Nightmare that I still think about even after several months since my initial viewing. I distinctly remember a chill running down my back when explaining to a friend the subject of this film: sleep paralysis. It’s a strange and terrifying phenomenon where sleepers are unable to move or speak while demonic creatures slowly approach. Ascher has the gall to interview his subjects suffering from sleep paralysis in their own bedrooms at night, which properly sets the mood and makes listening to their stories of night terrors all the more hair-raising. And while hearing people talk about their nightmares is one thing, Ascher adds a cinematic touch by showing re-enactments of these nightmares which really brings the testimonies to life. Some of these visualizations are a bit hokey (nightmares will always be scarier in our minds than on-screen), but it’s hard to shake images like the long shadowy figure with smoldering red eyes and sharp teeth. The Nightmare is the kind of film that sits with you long after the credits roll. [Dustin]

Of Men and War

Laurent Bécue-Renard’s Of Men and War stares directly into the wounded soul of a subject that’s rarely acknowledged and never explored. The Pathway Home, a therapy centre in California, helps treat soldiers with PTSD through group therapy sessions. Bécue-Renard films these sessions while also delving into some of the soldiers’ personal lives back home, shooting with a nonintrusive style that brings Frederick Wiseman (a director also appearing on this list) to mind. The therapy sessions provide a disturbing and powerful glimpse into the minds of these men, with each soldier providing a vivid account of the memories that paralyze them. Of Men and War doesn’t offer any answers, and while it ends on a hopeful note, it’s not exactly an optimistic one. Bécue-Renard recognizes the struggle these soldiers are going through is a lifelong process, and while his film doesn’t suggest therapy and emotional honesty are a cure, it does show their importance in providing the chance to deal with the psychological obstacles these men have to face every day. [C.J.]

The Royal Road

The title of Jenni Olson’s essay film refers to El Camino Real, the former 600-mile road that traveled across the Spanish missions in California. Olson uses this road to delve into topics both historical and personal: the history of California’s formation, an ill-fated trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles to meet a crush, the power of nostalgia, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, among other topics. Linking all of these seemingly disparate elements together is Olson’s personal experience and voice, narrating in a dry tone over grainy 16mm footage of California landscapes. Over its short runtime, Olson’s ruminations manage to cohere into a fascinating whole, one that’s impossible to not find relatable in some way. Unlike most recent documentaries, who seem intent on doing nothing more than dictating and informing, The Royal Road is an exception, a film that allows viewers the room to breathe and, more importantly, to think. [C.J.]

Seymour: An Introduction

Wisdom is acquired with age, and Seymour Bernstein, 85-year-old retired concert pianist-turned teacher and subject of Seymour: An Introduction, has plenty to go around. The documentary invites us to sit beside Seymour’s deep well of knowledge and philosophy, serenading us with elegant photography and a measured pace. Interviews with his adoring pupils are insightful and heartening, but nothing compares to the magic of Seymour recalling pivotal moments in his extraordinary life journey. There’s a musicality to the filmmaking that’s beautifully apropos and is doubly impressive considering the filmmaker, actor Ethan Hawke, is relatively young in his career behind the camera. This isn’t just a movie that makes you feel good; it makes you feel enlightened. [Bernard]

Just two weeks ago, Netflix released one of their most critically successful series to date, Aziz Ansari’s Master of None. The show has received praises of not only one of Netflix’s best series, but one of the best shows of the year, despite having little anticipation or large fanbase. However, this won’t be a problem for the newest series to hit the streaming platform as Marvel’s Jessica Jones might be the most anticipated Netflix shows of them all. It’s the second prong of Marvel’s deal with Netflix, following a former super-heroine (Krysten Ritter) who now works as a private eye. After mixed feelings for Daredevil, the marketing of Jessica Jones has struck a chord with more fun in the dark Hell’s Kitchen world. Once you’re done binging Jessica Jones (and then done catching up with Master of None, Narcos, Bloodline, etc.), here are some other great streaming movies and television hot off the presses this weekend:

Netflix

People, Places, Things (James C. Strouse, 2015)

An unconventional romantic comedy, James C. Strouse’s People, Places, Things stars Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the Shadows) as a struggling comic book writer slash college professor whose long-term girlfriend has left him. Their relationship is complicated by young twin daughters who spend weekends with their less-than-responsible father. The rom-com aspects come into play when one of Will’s hip students (played by the Daily Show‘s Jessica Williams) sets him up to date her single mother (Regina Hall). Clement and Hall are a strange pair on the surface, but their conflicting comedic personalities (him: wry, her: bubbly) is delightful. While People, Places, Things does throw in some third-act contrivances, centered around Will’s remaining love for the mother of his children, this breezy and funny film is more interested in its characters than rom-com hijinks.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World (Belinda Sallin, 2014)
Dior and I (Frédéric Tcheng, 2014)
Felt (Jason Banker, 2014)
I’m Still Here (Casey Affleck, 2010)

Fandor

The Double Life of Veronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1991)

This week at Fandor is dedicated to Polish film master Krzsztof Kieslowski, offering many films from his long career as part of their “Criterion Picks.” It is tough to pick out the auteur’s best film, but it might be the artful and complex The Double Life of Veronique. The film stars Irène Jacob in a double role as the Polish singer Weronika and the French music teacher Veronique. She lives a double life through the two characters who don’t know each other but experience an emotional metaphysical link. The film’s lush and innovative cinematography give it a distinct and unforgettable look. Alongside The Double Life of Veronique, Fandor is also offering all three of Kieslowski’s masterful “Three Colors” trilogy, crime film A Short Film About Violence, underseen gems Camera Buff and No End, and even more. As part of the “Criterion Picks,” you are able to see all of these great films for a limited time, until November 29.

Other titles new to Fandor this week:
Le Week-End (Roger Michell, 2013)
The Ninth Configuration (William Peter Blatty, 1980)
The Official Story (Luis Puenzo, 1985)
Stop the Pounding Heart (Roberto Minervini, 2013)
Traveller (Jack Green, 1997)

MUBI

Joan the Woman (Cecil B. DeMille, 1916)

As part of MUBI’s goal to bring a wide variety of classic and independent films, the streaming service often offers silent films that are outside the general pantheon. While Cecil B. DeMille is recognized as one of the most important and popular directors of classic Hollywood, his later big-budget work like The Ten Commandments gets much more attention—and there are many examples of his silent work that would be called before his 1916 Joan of Arc epic. As far as I can tell, Joan the Woman is the first major feature-length film on the life of the historic French revolutionary (only the 4th on-screen representation at all). This adaptation has a bit of twist, however, as it tells the story of a WWII officer who re-lives the life of Joan of Arc through a vision. Geraldine Farrar takes on the icon off her performance in DeMille’s original screen adaptation of Carmen. Much like the film, Farrar has received much lasting recognition, having a total of only 15 screen credits before retiring from the movies well before the end of the silent era. This is a great opportunity to discover Joan the Woman, which is available on MUBI until December 16.

Other titles new to MUBI this week:
The Edge of the World (Michael Powell, 1937)
The Exiles (Kent Mackenzie, 1961)
The Seduction of Mimi (Lina Wertmüller, 1972)
Small, Beautifully Moving Parts (Annie Howell & Lisa Robinson, 2011)
Story of My Death (Albert Serra, 2013)

Video On-Demand

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Guy Ritchie, 2015)

With the highly successful, but narratively underwhelming Spectre in theaters now, it is the perfect time to catch one of the more surprisingly satisfying spy flicks of recent years. Guy Ritchie’s hyper-kinetic and slick style is paired with the classic television show featuring beautiful people and Cold War espionage—and it’s a pretty wonderful match. Elevating the stylish surface-level draws are The Man from U.N.C.L.E.‘s three stars, who work supremely well together. Henry Cavill seemed to use the extra charisma he left on the set as Superman, Armie Hammer (put-upon accent aside) shows a return to his Winklevoss form, and relative newcomer Alicia Vikander continues her rise to eventual stardom. The three performers are very fun to watch, with excellent team chemistry. Together with a few slick action set pieces and many narrative twists and turns, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is Hollywood spy entertainment at its most enjoyable.

Other titles new to VOD this week:
#Horror (Tara Subkoff, 2015)
Criminal Activities (Jackie Earle Haley, 2015)
Man Up (Ben Palmer, 2015)
Meru (Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, 2015)
We Are Your Friends (Max Joseph, 2015)

On this week’s show, the tag team of Bernard and CJ review Noah Baumbach’s latest, Mistress America, starring Greta Gerwig and Lola Kirke. The boys also examine the value of modern theatrical “enhancements” like 3-D glasses and 4DX theaters and whether they’re hindering or helping movies as a whole. Plus, there’s a computer program being developed called “Dramatis” that is able to detect points of suspense in a story. Could this be the beginning of a future where computers are writing Hollywood scripts? Bernard and CJ answer that question as well as share their Indie Picks of the week on this especially bromantic edition of the Way Too Indiecast.

This week’s sponsor is MUBI, a curated online cinema that brings its members a hand-picked selection of the best indie, foreign, and classic films. Try MUBI for 30 days FREE by visiting www.mubi.com/waytooindie.

Topics

• Indie Picks of the Week (1:16)
• Movie Tech Madness (15:45)
• Dramatis (36:59)
• Mistress America Review (51:43)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

Leviathan Review
Meru Interview

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The “Shark’s Fin” route up Meru Peak in the Indian Himalaya is considered one of the most difficult climbs in the world. Mountaineers Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk attempted twice to ascend to the 21,000-foot peak (in 2008 and again in 2011), and thankfully for us, they brought cameras with them. Meru is a terrifying, deeply moving documentary about trust, friendship, mentorship, and the fortitude required to conquer one of the most treacherous feats in all of alpinism. Chin directed the film and brought his documentarian wife, E. Chai Vasarhelyi, to co-direct and edit the breathtaking footage. It’s a more personal, human story than the typical mountaineering doc, as it focuses on the bond between the three climbers more than anything else.

I spoke with Jimmy, Chai, and Conrad about their vision for the film, which is out in select theaters this week. For more information on the film, visit merufilm.com

This story definitely falls under the “stranger than fiction” category. I couldn’t believe what I was watching.
Jimmy: I think a lot of people have said something to that effect. They say that you couldn’t write it if you tried.

I’m a film critic who spends a lot of time in front of a computer screen. I could never imagine doing something so bold as what you guys did. What’s different about the way your mind works that allows you to do what you do?
Conrad: Starting out at a young age, you have a successful camping trip. Then you want to do a little more, so you hike to the top of a mountain. Next thing you know, you’ve got ropes and you’re taking trips to Mount Rainier and Alaska and the Himalayas. Each time you build upon the previous experience you get better at it. Eventually, you have a mission like Meru, which was a personal goal for me that was a real treat to share with Jimmy and Renan. I’m honored that Chai and Jimmy and their team made it into a story, because I’m not a filmmaker. [laughs]

Climbing and mountaineering is deeply personal and very intense. We’re playing with fire; people die out there. It’s great to share our passion in a real way that’s not made up. Most mountaineering films are either eye candy—beautiful music, scenic national parks—or people fall off of a mountain and they die. That’s not happening here. It’s about that tension of living a life in society and yet trying to go do something as dangerous as this.

From what I understand the footage wasn’t initially shot with the intention of turning it into a film.
Jimmy: When we started shooting in 2008 we were not planning on making a feature-length film. As a filmmaker, there’s one sort of expedition that’s focused on the production, and there’s another kind of expedition that’s focused on the climbing objective. Meru is a climbing objective-focused trip, so we were just shooting for posterity. In 2011, we went back and shot quite a bit more mostly because of technology. We had better technology to tell our stories with.

Just in three years the tech made that huge leap?
Jimmy: Yeah. That’s when the DSLR revolution happened. It allowed us to have a much more cinematic quality, shooting with such small cameras and such nice lenses. The first moment I thought we might have a feature-length film was during one of the final scenes in the film. I thought it would make a good ending for a film, and that percolated more when you got back to the states.

Talk about constructing the film.
Chai: I only got involved with the film in 2012. I make documentary films, so it was actually quite liberating that they had already shot the mountain footage because I had no control over what was shot. The biggest challenge was structure. The film is about this extraordinary climb, but it’s about so much more. It was about creating emotional arcs in a way that would allow people who weren’t necessarily climbers to have access to the story and develop these themes of mentorship and friendship that are so important. It was a battle in the edit room, but it turned out well.

Tell me more about the master/pupil tradition in mountaineering.
Conrad: Everything we have today is a result of previous generations and what they’ve accomplished and the knowledge they’ve passed on. We’re a sum total of everything that’s come before us, and when you understand that and have someone who takes the best of their knowledge and makes you their understudy, it comes around. Where that introduction came to you, you then pass it on yourself. That was my relationship with Jimmy. It’s enriching for both parties.

Jimmy: I always knew what I wanted the film to say and what the key elements were because that’s what my experience was. I knew that the most powerful experiences I had revolved around this climb and meeting Conrad and having that mentorship. It’s the life I live. Friendship, trust, and partnership are all big parts of climbing. I wanted to make a climbing film that wasn’t a film about climbing. What interests me is everything around climbing.

You use a lot of terminology in the movie that frankly got lost on me because I’m not a climber. But it didn’t matter because, as you said, them movie’s not just about climbing. Were there any difficulties in explaining advanced climbing concepts to a larger audience?
Chai: Of course. I’m not a climber! I had no idea what anyone was talking about. There’s an authenticity to the climbing in the film, which was important to us, but we still explore emotional themes at the same time. The story of Meru is a story of mentorship. Conrad only found this climb through a very special mentorship, and he then shared it with Renan and Jimmy. The stories are so intertwined.

Is it kind of neat to have this amazing experience documented in a way that allows you to reflect and dissect it from a new perspective?
Conrad: I’ve seen the film seven times, and there’s always something new that appeals to me or helps me understand a little better.

There’s a nice little moment when you’re teaching your nephew how to climb, Jimmy. Do you like teaching people like that?
Jimmy: I like when people get excited about anything, really. I like when they show excitement toward an activity. It’s infections and it’s fun. Me and Chai have a daughter, Marina, and Chai says I’m not allowed to take her climbing.

Chai: She’s not going to watch the movie until she’s ready to fight for our country! [laughs] Or until she’s ready to drink.

Conrad: The best female rock climber right now is in the 8th grade.

How?!
Conrad: It’s like gymnastics. The best performers are at that age. There’s a weight to strength ratio. She’s climbing on really small, delicate holds. It’s bolt protected, so risk isn’t a part of it. Imagine climbing is a big tree. Each branch has a different aspect of it, but the commonality is gravity. What we’re doing is Himalayan big wall climbing, so there’s a lot of risk involved. But when it gets too difficult, we put a little nylon ladder down and we inch our way up. A free climber just uses the edges of the mountain. That’s what that girl, Ashima Shiraishi, is doing, climbing at that level of difficulty. So Marina could be right in there!

Chai: No way. [laughs]

I always thought I was too short to be doing stuff like that.
Jimmy: No, no. Ashima is way shorter than me and she climbs way harder than I ever will.

Conrad: Climbing is the most level playing field, gender-wise. The first person to free-climb The Nose at El Capitan was Lynn Hill.

Jimmy: She’s 5’2!

Conrad: I’m 6’2, and height is a disadvantage on certain kinds of climbs. Don’t let your perception fool you. Go to the rock climbing gym and give it a shot and you’ll be psyched. It’s way better than lifting weights because there’s that human aspect. You’re trusting me with your life and I’m trusting you with mine. That’s the beauty of the sport. We’re a team. The adversity is the cliff, the gravity, the weather, the mountain. It’s not three other human beings we have to climb against or keep a ball away from.

What’s the biggest misconception about climbing?
Jimmy: Probably what we just mentioned. The gender thing, that you have to have big muscles or be tall.

Conrad: That we’re thrill seekers and have a death wish. It’s not the case.

Jimmy: There is that misperception that we’re crazy, risk-taking people. Climbing is hyper calculated.

I think a common reaction people may have to this film is that they can’t imagine why you’d do this stuff. Some people may consider you a little crazy for putting your lives at risk like that.
Chai: I think there’s an argument to be made for that. It’s very sophisticated decision-making these guys are doing, but they are risking an awful lot.

Jimmy: The consequences are very real. A goal of ours was to give people a visceral experience of what it’s like to do a climb like that. We’re showing the audience why climbing a mountain is absolutely horrific and miserable and the last thing you’d want to do. But somewhere in the film, if there’s one moment where you might think, “I kind of get it. I see why they would do it.” Did you have a moment like that?

Yeah. It’s when Conrad is sitting by Renan’s bed after he’s badly injured. I understood then that the bond between them is so strong and beautiful that it’d make climbing a mountain worthwhile.
Chai: I love Conrad in that scene.

Right. I think the camaraderie you guys develop and share is something I envy. What have other people said when you ask them that question?
Jimmy: They say different things depending on their interpretation of my question. We kind of set it up for that moment after the portaledge breaks. We’re like, “You know what? We fixed the portaledge; let’s keep climbing.” There’s this montage of us tinkering away and doing our thing. There are moments when you have fun and you’re in awe of where you are. One of the original reasons I started climbing mountains was to be in beautiful places. You get to these incredible locations where you know no one else has been there before. It’s exciting.

What’s going through your head when you do have a second to just take a breath and take a mental picture?
Jimmy: That I should really savor this moment. I’ve been through enough trips where I know when it’s a powerful moment, and there aren’t very many like it.

Conrad: At that moment, you can’t take it in quick enough. It’s so amazing. To be in that location, high up on the peak, looking over everything…you feel like you’re on earth rather than being in a building in a city or something like that. It’s almost like you can feel the earth orbiting.

Jimmy: I’ve equated it to what I imagine it feels like to be in outer space. You feel overwhelmed.

Conrad: It’s an inhospitable environment. Humans aren’t meant to survive there. Unless we bring our tools and our food, we die.

Jimmy: You’re hyper-conscious that you’re in a completely ridiculous place for a human being to be. [laughs] Then there’s the idea where you’re in a space where you can actually enjoy it—there’s an absurdity to it.