Customer Reviews

Higher Ambitions

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just watched the new video last night and I highly recommend it. I'm pretty jaded when it comes to mountaineering films - too much Hollywood, and too many 'content-free' films. This is neither. A compelling story, fantastic footage, and a sense of realism that's missing from most climbing films.

I just came back from the Himalaya (Tibet) myself, and can say that Higher Ambitions captures the 'feel' of climbing in China.

Wow, I was totally impressed. I just finished watching this movie about 10 minutes ago, and I still have goose bumps from it! The steepest big route I have completed was the Liberty Ridge on Rainier, and man, this video takes you back to exposure, suffering, danger, and joy. I was not expecting something this good. It TOTALLY RAISED THE BAR in climbing films. I can't wait to see what other videos he produces in the up and coming years. I am sold, my climbing partner is sold (I had to call him and just boast "I can't believe I just saw this!"

All in all, it is a great film, it has a coherent story, beautiful filming and great editing. It isn't quite as pretty as the Everest Imax movie, but I think it is a superior movie as a whole.

If you are looking to expand your climbing DVD library, you need to have this movie!

This is by far the best, raw, heartfelt film about mountaineering I've seen. In no way fancy, the rough-around-the-edges filmaking creates an immediate connection to the action and characters, particularly for someone who's a climbing nut like myself. This is not Hollywood; I've seen Everest and The Alps, and they're sap-filled gushers, making you ask, "where's the rest of the CLIMBING!?" If you're into mountaineering, do the director a favor and buy this. Furthermore, if you're Chinese, I can only imagine how proud this film will make you.

Higher Ambitions is about a Chinese-American Expedition to complete the fifth ascent of the highest of the four sisters mountains, Siguniang (20,500ft), in the Sichuan Mountains of China. It is an amazing look into a world that few westerners have ever seen.

The film is clearly not a high budget film. Movies such as the 1996 IMAX Everest film, or Touching The Void were both created using large budgets, film crews, porters, support staff, etc. While theses films are great to watch, and are easy for non-climbers to relate to, they leave out the essence, taste and feel of what it is like to be on an expedition. The lead up to the climb is long, and the struggle to gain the route is slow; which Tim Boelter includes in his documentary. However, having been on expeditions before I can say from experience that this is a true depiction of a large scale climb.

Higher Ambitions was filmed by the climbers themselves. Their cameras are not high tech, and the editing has the feel of a very well-done home video, and Tim Boelter is not afraid to lead out footage that one might think is boring and unimportant to the actual climb. However, this is not a video about merely the climb of Siguniang but a teams experience and with the region and the mountain in general.

I would recommend this film to people who have experience climbing, mountaineering, enjoy the story of true adventure off the grid, or outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy hearing about not just the "sexy" moments of adventure but all the rest as well.

I have shown this to friends and they didn't enjoy the move. But they weren't outdoorsy nor mountaineers, and as a mountaineer I really liked it.

Cons - It dragged on too long at some points. And, in my opinion if your going to make a DVD for distribution a little more effort should have gone into editing and filming. Almost all the shots are done without a tripod so the frame shakes a lot at times and can get annoying.

Pros - Stunning shots of a seldom seen part of the world. Film makes one feel like their actually on the mountain with the climbers (i.e. when an avalanche hits the team all you see is white and chaos because one of them is holding the camera). Shows the entire trip and not just the "Hollywood" scenes. Accurate depiction of what climbing a 20K mountain feels like.

Excelent for those who like ice climbing and mountaineering. Pretty good movie.