Susan Granger’s review of “Meru” (Music Box Films)
The aptly named Shark’s Fin of Meru Peak in the Himalayas pierces the sky, culminating in a slick, vertical 1,500-foot wall with a tip so tiny it barely accommodates one climber.
At 20,700 feet, Meru is considered the anti-Everest, towering high above the sacred Ganges River in Northern India. There are no Sherpas setting ropes, carrying gear and escorting thrill-seeking, often ill-prepared tourists.
Three courageous American mountaineers met Meru’s challenge not once but twice. In October, 2008, Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk embarked on a seven-day trek that disintegrated into a harrowing, 20-day ordeal. Within sight of the summit, they were forced to turn back.
In September, 2011, they reassembled to tackle arduous Meru again, lugging 200 pounds of equipment, including digital cameras, in sub-zero temperatures, encountering blizzards and avalanches, enduring frostbite and trench foot, and amping in a small tent clinging to the side of the mountain.
To say they suffer a number of frights while scaling the heights is an understatement.
Asked why he climbs mountains, Jimmy Chin says: “Participants in these extreme sports don’t know why they do it. They only know that they must. It seems a drive that only they dare embrace – hubris, maybe, or Thantos – or a compulsion to transcend all limitations, and the view is pretty good too.”
Reminiscent of Kevin Macdonald’s “Touching the Void,” Jimmy Chin and his wife E. Chai Vasarhelyi’s 90-minute documentary, edited by Bob Eisenhardt, features interviews with the climbers and their loved ones.
Plus there’s insightful commentary by “Into Thin Air” author Jon Krakauer, who describes Meru’s location as “the point where heaven and earth and hell all come together,” adding, “The rewards of climbing are huge – if you survive.”
But it’s the harrowing journey that inspires, not necessary the destination, particularly when visuals of the ascent are enhanced with J. Ralph’s score and Philip Sheppard’s songs.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Meru” is a spectacular 7, a peak experience.
