Meru: A Sundance Movie Review-Emma

Meru

This award winning documentary is no ordinary climbing film. Meru follows the journey of three of the world’s best professional climbers as they attempt to climb the Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most technically complicated and dangerous peak in the Himilayas, which has never been scaled to completion. The audience learns about the personal struggles of each of the climbers: Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin (director), and Renan Ozturk. Each man battled the harsh weather and complex pasts. 

I saw this documentary on the last day of Sundance, February 1st, after it had been given the U.S. Documentary Audience Award, on the film’s very last showing. When the movie came to an end they brought director Jimmy Chin up to the stage. Everyone in the theater got to their feet in applause as he made his way to the front. I could tell that he was on the verge of tears as he thanked us. 
“That still gets me every time,” he said. 

He explained that his journey as a climber and cinematographer throughout the creation of this film was full of problems that were clear after viewing the movie. Chin told us in the audience that he doesn’t want us to tell people that we saw a ‘climbing movie’ because it wasn’t just a climbing movie. I agree, Meru isn’t a climbing documentary. It is a documentary of an incredible journey to success.