Free Solo (spoilers)

Just come from watching the film.

I was a little 'put off' by the portrayal of Sanni, but I don't think the treatment was consciously unfair.

The dynamic I saw was one where 'the enthusiast' was more in love with the mountain than 'the romantic partner'. In this case 'she' filled a void in 'his' life, and vice versa. Given the film was predominantly about the enthusiast the partner was in a vulnerable position. At this point, in their lives, she is second to the mountain. That is a tough place to be when you are close to someone.

I empathise with the frustrations that created this post. We live in a patriarchal world and that dominants individual freedoms both sides and everywhere in-between of 'genders'.

I left wondering and hoping for Alex to find his next mountain in another person, (whether that be Sanni or someone else); and vice versa.

Uh, I'll probably get banned for this or whatever, but have you considered that maybe she was a bit of an idiot, and was at fault for those mistakes? He hadn't been injured in 7 years and suddenly both his injuries involve her. Are you just assuming that all women are perfect and must be portrayed as such? That seems more sexist to me than anything, that you are angry when a woman is portrayed as anything less than angelic. Somehow I highly doubt that if a man was in the same position you'd be making this post...

Jacob M wrote: Uh, I'll probably get banned for this or whatever, but have you considered that maybe she was a bit of an idiot, and was at fault for those mistakes? He hadn't been injured in 7 years and suddenly both his injuries involve her. Are you just assuming that all women are perfect and must be portrayed as such? That seems more sexist to me than anything, that you are angry when a woman is portrayed as anything less than angelic. Somehow I highly doubt that if a man was in the same position you'd be making this post...

She’s so oppressed she cried her way to the Oscars. 

Jacob M wrote: Uh, I'll probably get banned for this or whatever, but have you considered that maybe she was a bit of an idiot, and was at fault for those mistakes? He hadn't been injured in 7 years and suddenly both his injuries involve her. Are you just assuming that all women are perfect and must be portrayed as such? That seems more sexist to me than anything, that you are angry when a woman is portrayed as anything less than angelic. Somehow I highly doubt that if a man was in the same position you'd be making this post...

Think about this, however. Alex has primarily free soloed his whole climbing life, correct? This means he has completely avoided rope belays and the various issues they have like not tying a knot in the end of the rope on longer single pitches. So in that one aspect, he's really not THAT experienced and therefore he didn't teach her to do it and therefore both are at fault. 

Tim Stich wrote:

Think about this, however. Alex has primarily free soloed his whole climbing life, correct? 

Tim Stich wrote:

Think about this, however. Alex has primarily free soloed his whole climbing life, correct? This means he has completely avoided rope belays and the various issues they have like not tying a knot in the end of the rope on longer single pitches. So in that one aspect, he's really not THAT experienced and therefore he didn't teach her to do it and therefore both are at fault. 

No. Not correct. Probably a 100/1 ratio of rope climbing to free soloing.

But I agree that the fault lies with the more experienced climber if you take a beginner out to belay you and don't make sure they have the proper knowledge and skills (like putting a knot in the end of the rope) to not drop you. I don't think the accident in the movie is nearly as much Sanni's fault as it is Alex's. 

It's funny how the main topic of discussion here is the relationship between Alex and Sanni. Reading through the comments it's easy to lose track of Alex's athletic accomplishment, which was arguably the greatest in human history.

Credit to Chai, she is a brilliant director who got the entire story just right. Without her insight this movie is just more climbing footage.

I typically do not engage in posts like this, but I thought I might share my perspective. I have seen Free Solo 3 times now. I am a small female . I learned to climb from my boyfriend. He took me up multi-pitch routes despite my lack of knowledge and I made really noob mistakes that were embarrassing. I was actually super happy Jimmy and Chai portrayed Sanni the way they did.She was the human factor in the film that allowed you to connect. Most people are not like Alex Honnold, but there are many people like Sanni. I have been in the position where you make a mistake and are blamed, even though you were never given the knowledge necessary to succeed. If you can blame anyone for Sanni's short comings in the film I would say it would be Alex for not giving her the knowledge to succeed, on the climbing side of things that is. That being said, I think you miss the point that it takes someone gentle, yet fierce to love and support someone like Alex and to portray her in any other light would have been a disservice. I think Chai said it best as she accepted the OSCAR, for this amazing film --, "Sanni climbed her own mountain that day." And Alex whelp what he did was pretty awesome too to say the least.  

My wife and I have been married for over 25 years.  After reading all this I feel very fortunate that our relationship in its early years wasn't analyzed in public forums.

Jaren Watson wrote: Alex Honnold is a big deal in climbing and rightfully so. Free Solo has gotten a lot of attention and rightfully so.

I will add my opinion to that of many who predict a significant uptick in the popularity of free soloing and prophecy in the name of whomever that Alex’s achievement will be equalled if not outdone, and likely within a few years’ time.

I'll believe it when I see it. Name one climber right now who is in the same ballpark as Alex Honnold when it comes to free soloing. You can't. Even if someone else free solos El Cap, Alex blazed the trail and will always be the first. Adam Ondra crushed the Dawn Wall, but even he says that Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson's FA was a greater achievement because they proved it could be done.

Jaren Watson wrote:

I have no problem conceding that Honnold is the best currently free soloist.  

It’s unlikely he will retain that position forever. 

Arguing that Honnold is best because he was first puts you in a precious position, wouldn’t you agree?

I doubt (or maybe hope is a better word) that we'll ever be inundated with free-soloing hordes. Honnold is currently the best. There have been other greats in the past. You're correct that statistically speaking there will be someone better in the future. But probably not next week..

I just saw the film and I disagree with OP's opinion on Sanni's characterization. I didn't think the filmmakers portrayed her as a bad person or someone who is in the way of Alex's goal. In fact I think that the filmmakers glossed over the accidents. They should've discussed the accidents and why it happened. There was a lot that Alex didn't seem to want to talk about regarding the accidents. They didn't even explore the impact the accidents had on Sanni. If you have ever dropped a climber while belaying, it's a traumatizing experience, I'm told. I almost shit in my pants when Alex sent the boulder problem. It was a good climbing film. It could've been more emotional. 

I re-watched Free Solo last night and thought this was an interesting discussion.

Honestly, I think Sanni is portrayed more favorably than Honnold. The climbing accident(s) were, imo, clearly Honnold's fault. You can't just throw someone who you think isn't a real climber (his words) onto a Gri Gri and expect them to belay you up hard shit. If you're the more experienced climber you should be tying knots in the rope and going through safety checks with your follower.

Did Sanni want a house and furniture, etc? Yes. But I took that portrayal more as her being a grown ass person versus Honnold being almost childlike; ie.. refusing to discuss emotions, struggling to accept responsibility, eating from pots and pans with spatulas, etc.

Sanni certainly came off as a flawed person but we're all flawed people and I absolutely disagree the film intended or encouraged a negative viewpoint of Sanni. I thought she did a great job balancing her desires and fears with Honnold's dangerous obsession.