Touching the Void - Textual Analysis

Touching the Void is a documentary film brought out in 2003 which recalls the true life events of Simon Yates and Joe Simpson's near fatal attempt to climb Siula Grande (6,344m) in the Peruvian Andes.
The documentary begins with extreme close up shots of the ice and climbing equipment cutting and hitting the ice this gives the initial impression to the audience of the harsh conditions they are facing and what type of climbing they are doing is. They is also a strong use of diegetic sound of the wind whistling and the ice cracking and breaking to reinforce these extreme weather conditions. In contrast to this it then cuts to a close up shot to the face of a man who we then find out is Joe Simpson. There is no external sound other than his voice which grasps the audience’s attention and allows them to focus on what he is saying. He introduces the task that they had to face and as he describes the scale of what they are about to do, low pitched bellowing music begins to fade in to highlight the danger of their climb. The scene then moves to an establishing shot flying over the mountains displaying the vast landscape and scale of the mountains they are attempting to climb. The titles sequence then begins over the establishing shots of the mountains, as they emerge onto the screen there are also non diegetic sounds of wind blowing to accompany the moving titles.

As the main feature then begins we are introduced to each of the men involved with the climb all displayed with the same close up shot of their face for the interview. The following scene cuts between the interviews faces and the establishing shots of the landscape as they explain why the decided to embark on this task and what they were getting themselves in for. The voiceover bridges across the whole scene and gives an outline of what is happening. As new issues and dilemmas are introduced into the story the music will gradually build up to build suspense. As the scene develops and the climbers put them into more dangerous situations the music builds into a fast tempo and there is a strong use of diegetic sounds of the ice smashing and wind whistling to give it a harsh affect. They finally reach the summit of the peak and there is a panning shot from the top giving the viewers an idea of the landscape and what they had achieved, there is also operatic music playing to reinforce is grand, epic scenery.

To split the documentary into parts, each day is separated by a title that highlights what day of the week it is and gives the audience am idea of the time scale of the events happening.  The two climbers then proceed to travel back to the base of the mountain; the scene continues to cut between the interview situation and the real life scenes to tell the story. But as they get further down the mountain problems begin to develop. Joe Simpson walks out onto an overhanging piece of ice without knowing and falls through. During this scene there is no music just the non-diegetic sounds of him moving in addition to this the camera angles and extreme close ups of his feet and the snow around him so you as the audience are aware that something is about to happen. As he falls through the ice there is complete silence which draws the audience’s attention to what is happening. He then lands on the snow below and breaks his leg which is identified through the exaggerated sound of the leg breaking during impact. The music then builds again and he cries out in pain to show to the audience that he is in serious danger and could die if he is stranded there. As Simon his partner realises what has happened he comes up with a plan to lower Joe down the mountain via his rope. However as he begins to lower Joe down further and the music stop to highlight that something significant is going to occur and to grasp the audience’s attention. It then develops as he loses sight of him and he ends up leaving him hanging over a crevasse on the mountain without knowing. There is a strong use of close ups shots of the two men to show their emotions and close ups of their equipment they are using as that is the only thing holding him up. The shots continue to cut from the real life events to the interviews to show the direct comparison of the emotions of the people and the story of the events that happened.

Due to Simons lack of knowledge of what had happened he made the bold decision to cut the rope as he believed that Joe had died due to his broken leg. As Joe lands in the crevasse he is surprised to still be alive and the 1^st person camera angle gives you the viewpoint of his emotions in that situation and the dark and harsh conditions he was surrounded by.  He then realises he is going to take the risk of lowering himself to the bottom of the crevasse. During this scene there is no non diegetic sounds or music only the diegetic sounds of his climbing equipment on the ice and verbal pain he expresses due to his broken leg. However he discovers an opening at the bottom and emerges out onto the side of the mountain.  Soft orchestral music is then played to highlight the great sense of achievement he as a climber has just achieved and the camera uses slow panning shots of the surrounds and atmosphere to show the contrast to being in the crevasse and the vast landscape in front of him. The daunting truth then comes to realisation for Simon though as he realises he has to travel across this vast landscape in order to get back to the base camp so he begins the impossible task of dragging himself back to where he started. Throughout this scene there is a strong use of an electronic and almost hypnotic sound as Simons body begins to die from the cold and the injuries he has. Quick cuts to images of flowing water show the audience the contrast to the situation he is in and the tantalising nature of all the ice around him although he is extremely dehydrated and dying. There are also a strong use of extreme close ups and hand held footage to display his emotions and gives the audience a sense that they are with him.

The scene then progresses to the point where he is lying in a pile of rocks not knowing to the whereabouts of his position and at this point he is on the brink of dying. During this scene they use flashing images of death and use non diegetic evil sounds of creepy laughs and gloomy music to show to the audience that he is going to die at any point. The scene then cuts back to the viewpoint of Simon in the interview and he begins to describe a piece of music that he had in his head at this point. However this piece of music is juxtaposition to the events happening and changes the whole feeling behind the scene and brings a sense of hope to the situation he is in. The non-diegetic sound of Simons interview describing the events continues throughout the whole scene to keep the audience in touch with how he was feeling and create a more personal relationship between Simon and the viewers. He is then reunited with his team members and the credits conclude the documentary.  The credits are accompanied by soft piano music and a montage of photos displaying the real life events of the expedition. The soft music give the audience a chance to reflect of the film and events they have just witnessed.