Free Solo

This Oscar-winning documentary captures one of the most impossible athletic achievements ever attempted: Alex Honnold's free-solo ascent of El Capitan - a 3,200-foot granite face in Yosemite - without ropes.

Terrifying Beauty

Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin face a profound ethical question: how do you film something where any mistake means watching a man die? The film grapples with this honestly, even showing the camera crew's reluctance.

Honnold himself is a fascinating subject - a man who seems to have his amygdala permanently switched off. His matter-of-fact discussion of mortality contrasts with his girlfriend Sanni's very human terror throughout.

Verdict

The climbing sequence at the end is one of the most tense fifteen minutes ever committed to film. Required viewing for anyone who's ever wondered what peak human performance looks like.