180º South, a documentary film about one mans journey, Jeff Johnson, to Patagonia in order to climb the mountain Corcovado and Cerro which was only previously summited by his long time hero Doug Tompkins in the 1960’s who stated when seeking to climb this mountain “We didn’t want to be apart of the military complex”. They believed thoroughly that when it comes to climbing Everest, “Your an asshole when you start out and your an asshole when you get back”.
The film begins with a detailing of the attempt on Corcovado by Doug Tompkins and Yvon Chouinard. It shows their journey in which they drove along the Pan-American, 10,000 miles, in order to reach the mountain. Each would later state that the trip and climb would be a major factor and turning point in their lives. Together they would later go on to establish a massive conservation area in the greater Patagonia region.
Johnson’s first obstacle that he must overcome in the documentary is traveling to Chile. As a first rate dirt bag he does what one would naturally do when they can ill afford buying a plane ticket, he hitches a ride on a small cutter along with a native Chilean and sails the thousands of miles to Chile. However, disaster strikes the boat when they lose their seventy foot mast and are left motoring to Easter Island. After a short stay hear and some hard learned lessons about depleting natural resources, which will be crucial later in the film. They continue on in their adventure down to Chile.
Once he arrives in Chile he hitches rides on buses and boats until he arrives in Patagonia and is met by his two friends and climbing partners. After five long months of travel the trio continue on to the mountain along with Chouinard in order to climb Corcovado. They fail at the attempt and are a turned back a few hundred feet short due to the conditions of the mountain at the time. In regards to this occurring Chouinard says “Its the quest that is important the transformation in yourself that is important not the summit itself”. The climbers following this spend a little time surfing and climbing small mountains before parting and heading their separate ways.
There are a few overarching themes in this film that are critical to the message of the film. The first of these themes is the relationship between man and nature. Throughout the film Johnson encounters many natural habits that have been ruined and degraded by man made industries and progress. At one point Johnson encounters a fisher and his family whose livelihood has been ruined by the energy companies and pulp mills each of which has been polluting the ocean. In addition to this commercial fishing has driven away any hope of catching fish for the locals. This is not an uncommon theme for the whole of Chile which has faced a lot of environmental degradation due to supposed progress. It is stated in the film, “The hardest thing to do in life is live simply”. Which seems to be the issue for many Chileans. They would rather have the comforts of modern life, rather than preserving their precious environment. However, this is not the case for all Chileans many from more rural portions of Chile have protested environmental issues and have marched on the capital in protest. The greatest supports of these people are Doug Tompkins and Yvon Chouinard who have raised millions of dollars to buy land to preserve it and to help aid those that would seek to keep Patagonia and other portions of Chile in pristine condition. Yvon Chouinard stated in the film that humans should turn around and take a step forward meaning they should continue with progress just progress to preserve, rather than destroy.
In addition to this the film really focuses on the community that can be heralded through the sport of mountaineering. Wherever he went he was able to connect to the many people that he encountered. He was able to relate to the communities that he ended up living in and through these experiences he was able to enhance his journey. This point connects perfectly with the idea of the journey to the mountain being more important than actually climbing the mountain. For a majority of the film Johnson is merely traveling to the mountain and the entire film only focuses on the actual climb for about ten minutes. It is because of this fact that one must believe that the film is more about the human experience as a whole and connecting to people no matter where you go. It is irrefutable that this film does deal with mountaineering, however, it would appear that the film makers are seeking to address how mountaineering can bring people together. It is a common theme in mountaineering for people of differing nationalities to be driven apart because of mountaineering, but this film shows that it can also be a uniter for peoples of all nationalities.
The final theme that is presented in this film is much more easily seen than the aforementioned themes. It is the idea of turning around before ones life is endangered by the mountain. In the film Johnson and his climbing companions decide to turn back rather than risk life and limb in order to summit which is a very uncommon theme within this class. It was refreshing to have team that decided to be smart and not risk their lives in order to climb something that would be there forever.
The fil 180º South was a wonderful watch that I would suggest to anyone regardless of interest in mountaineering or not. Although it seeks to show one mans journey to climb the mountain Corcovado it is much more than just that. This film seeks to show the relationship between man and nature and how invaluable human connection can be. It is for these reasons that it is a wonderful film about mountaineering and about life.