180° South (2010)
5/10
Was this a real trip?
23 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I love the cinematography, the images of the mountains and the wilderness, and the idea of recreating a famous climb. What actually happens is that the plot takes on a bunch of debris and junk as it goes along, like a runaway snowball, and the idea that that snowball was supposed to be part of some epic snowman is practically forgotten.

This movie has strong points, don't get me wrong. I just grew tired of it. At first, I thought the two old guys were cool. Then, later, I find out that they are a couple of millionaires, which I suspected by their lack of concern for anything but dicking off and the environment. Watching the face of one of them as he blankly stares out the window of his plane he's flying around made me mad. I'd give anything to be in a plane in Patagonia, doing what he's doing, and he looks bored out of his mind. These young hipsters are no different. The main dude who hops on the boat seems like a really cool guy at first, working for his dinner like a normal person. Then, the mast mysteriously breaks on his watch, and he has to stop at Easter Island where he immediately meets a hot island girl who just happens to surf and want to go with him..??? They meet up with his buddies and the old guys later and just kind of dick around and bitch about the environment and surf. Oh yeah, they eventually attempt to climb the mountain.

Amid all of this "self-discovery" is a soundtrack full of some really cool tunes that don't seem to belong. They are all dreamy and slow and sad and make me feel like the filmmaker wants us to think his journey was more special than it actually was. I felt like I had been asleep after this was over, dreaming about special, privileged people doing things I only wish I could do. Then I woke up and went to work so I could support my family.
20 out of 36 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed