Two Netflix Movies Will Change your Perspective on Human Abilities

A Spoiler-Free Review of ‘14 Peaks’ & ‘The Alpinist’

Courtesy of Netflix

One thing that will never cease to captivate an audience is watching someone else excel at their given talent. Whether you’re watching an actor pour their heart into a scene or an athlete achieve superhuman feats, we will always enjoy the experience. Netflix has brought two captivating stories to our front doors. ‘14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible’ and ‘The Alpinist’ are two documentaries that display a level of human ability some might call supernatural. Both complement each other in a unique way that makes for an outstanding viewing experience.

“While Nims and Marc-Andre may have different journeys and challenges, they both defy the natural human response of fear.”

Let’s start our climb with ’14 Peaks’, which revolves around Nepali high altitude climber Nirmal Purja, or Nims. He sets out on a mission to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters in one season- hence the name. Keep in mind, this is something that has never been done before. But this challenge doesn’t phase Nims, in fact, it drives him.

Courtesy of The Times

Nims has a level of raw ambition that is rare, and his mental ability to set lofty goals then consistently work towards them is something most people crave in their lives. Throughout his mission, he is spectacularly upbeat despite all the obstacles he faces. In spite of many people saying his idea is crazy and impossible, he names his mission Project Possible.

Not only is Nims’s mission technically challenging, but it also requires extreme logistical accuracy and money. Since he is completing all of the climbs in one season, he needs to submit each mountain in a certain amount of time in order to make it down to travel to the next mountain. And do it over and over again before the season is over. It’s a race against the clock that leaves little to no room for error. Obviously, the money to make all of this happen doesn’t just appear out of thin air. Which presents another speed bump in Nims’s way. All of these obstacles don’t even begin to factor in the personal and family struggles that may arise. It’s a good thing Nims is never one to back down from a challenge.

Then there’s ‘The Alpinist’ which centers on an individual who rather hates the spotlight, 23-year old Marc-Andre. He’s a free-spirited climber who tackles both rock and alpine faces. Throughout his life, he garners little mainstream attention, while making some of the most insane solo ascents in history. His approach to climbing is the essence of adventure as he uses no ropes, which leaves zero margins for error.

Courtesy of Red Bull Media House

There are moments where he is hanging on to the mountain by the tip of an ice pick... Marc-Andre’s ability to overcome any fear and simply enjoy what he is doing is truly unbelievable. You will be left speechless when you see the mountains and terrain he sets out to climb. There’s an intangible emotion that these scenes conjure up that makes you feel like you, as the viewer, are on pins and needles.

Both of these documentaries are spectacular. The intimate way in which they were filmed really dives you directly into the climber's perspective. You’ll feel like you are actually on the mountain with both climbers. Directors Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen (‘The Alpinist’), and Torquil Jones (’14 Peaks’) deserve a tremendous amount of praise for their execution and cinematic style. At times the human abilities and terrains are captured in such a way that can only be described as profound.

While Nims and Marc-Andre may have different journeys and challenges, they both defy the natural human response of fear. In doing so, they drive their passions forward with every step they take up the mountain. Their ability to overcome obstacles and challenges has the capacity to inspire anyone.

That’s one of the reasons these documentaries should be watched back to back. It’ll provide for a better sense of what human beings are capable of when we truly apply ourselves to something. We can all probably identify something in our lives we wish to improve upon. But we inevitably run into the wall of considering something impossible; when we should embark on our own project possible.

The experience of watching these documentaries is similar to watching an athlete excel at the Olympics. Except these two documentaries shed light on their stories while avoiding the pitfalls of commercializing the experience. Aside from being on Netflix but we’ll let that slide.

It’s difficult to rate a documentary because so much of the story is out of the hands of the storytellers, rather the movie is judged by how the filmmakers relay someone else's story. Therefore, both of these documentaries landed as a 9.0/10 on my scale because they were done in a truly raw and engaging way. You will not be disappointed as you walk away with your mind having been blown.

*This article was originally published in the Film Cut