Comments

1
Please tell me that you actually paid for admission.

For a review this pathetic, you should have your press pass revoked.
2
Christopher, the question for the reviewer of a rather poorly constructed doc is not, is this low budget. Nor is it, could I have accomplished what the subjects accomplished? It is however, is this film worth anyone's time, and more importantly in SIFF is it worth the cost of more than your average movie ticket? Sounds like the answer is no, so just say that and get it over with. No guilt necessary.
3
180 deg. South does not exist as a Latitude. I guess that is their point?

Also, spent two months in the fjords down there. It is a lot like the Inside Passage here, except w/ less people, fewer conifers, and more beech trees. Plus penguins. Minus bears.
4
Pretty much like doing it in the North. So write about it.
5
Ah, I guess 180 deg. south is a distance.
6
no, it's a reference to due south for someone who usually heads due north.

You turn 180 degrees to the south - kind of like how maps show the North Pole on top, but it could easily be portrayed with the South Pole on top.
7
I suggest finding a new columnist. This is an awful review and isn't worthy of being posted. It's ok not to like a film but at least be able to back it up with a well written document. Tell the reader where to film falls short and what the film maker could of done to make it better. Also your readers might want to know that Yvon's "friend" Doug Tompkins is the founder of the North Face. There's a whole underlining story there that you seem to have missed. The reader gets the idea that you're lazy and instead of seeing it as a movie unworthy of seeing, they see you as a lazy writer. You can't criticize a form of media for falling short, when you do the same.
8
I have just seen the movie and i loved it! Having said that the review that i just read is a typical one.
Here is obviously someone who has never experienced real adventure before with moments of true personal triumph,a pure way of travelling and seeing the world. Therefor reviewer you will never understand the feeling and life changing situations an adventure can bring. People like Jeff are not going for the big bucks but try capture that feeling of true freedom in this case on camera to share it with as many people as possible and maybe even educate us a bit in the process.

To try and show the great adventure is still out there, but for how long...so get out of that lazy chair.

Luckily there are still plenty of people out there that can appreciate this film for what it is.
A personal journey with more adventure and life lessons in the 6 months it took then most people will ever experience in a lifetime. So please read your review again because this might very well be your own personal wake up call. So go out and experience real life instead of looking for cliche's.
Conqueror of the Useless how great is that title!
A word of advise, stick to reviewing the hollywood Cr#% untill you have experienced enough to understand, Abre los ojos!
Great Documentary, great soundtrack!
Keep the adventure alive,

Tom Kooreman
The Netherlands
9
I thought this movie was interesting but touched a wierd tip of the iceberg sorta thing.

Chouinard was part of a group of climbers that climbed these huge rock walls at Yosemite before anyone thought it was possible. So for him to have a little bit of an ego it is understandable.

Tomkins basically took his whole fortune from Esprit and North Face and dumped it all into buying land in Chile and Argentina. He basically bought so much land that he bisected a portion of Chile at one point (his land divided Chile into North and South).

This freaked the government and big business people of Chile out, as conservation and environmental philanthropy was not really heard of there. And here was this foreigner basically dividing the country into two. Chile has many still untapped resources (hydropower, fish farms, etc) that are quickly being tapped by major corporations in a polluting manner.

So we have this sort of disjointed journey being financed by these two wealthy older guys that most of us have never heard their whole history. So I was deeply moved by the movie but I'm not sure why. I guess I am moved as I realize there are lots of wild places still out there like Patagonia which draws people to them that come their for their own reasons, with the reasons never being 100% pure.

I was also interested in their original trip as that sounded much more adventurous. In the land of GPS, cellphones, and helicopters it never seems as on the edge as a trip in a van in the 60's would have been. If only Chouinard and Tompkins would have had a video camera for that trip, that would have been a better documentary.

It was especially interesting in that Chouinard basically says we will climb this mountain and walk away and be done with it. He's a refreshing realist, he's done all he can to save the earth, it's going down the tubes anyways, so he's going to live in the moment every second and enjoy it, in a Buddhist sort of fashion. Everyone is human and we try and most of the time that is not enough but we still can gaze on the beauty of a place like patagonia.

All in all, the documentary is very loose, but opens up a whole series of questions to explore about patagonia and the people who have tried to save it and live in it. Piques the curiosity if anything. Much better than most hollywood fiction or canned documentaries

10
Unquestionably there were flaws in 180 Degrees South - however it was many more times more thoughtful in its approach than Christopher Frizzelle's offerings above.

Of course to review this review may very well be folly - however some of the reader's comments have inspired me to try.

This is not a good review. It is a bad review.

That was considerably easier than I thought.
11
You write like a douche. You wrote this on your laptop at a coffee shop right?
12
Christopher Frizzelle has no clue about the real message of this movie this movie, after reading this review, one phrase in the movie came to mind :.....“when you compromise the process, you’re an asshole when you start out and you’re an asshole when you finish.” Make no mistake about it though,.......that one is 4 you Christopher !!!
I found 180 Degrees South to be a story about searching for answers about over consumption and over spending,.....go one step backwards and look for ways to make our lives simpler !!!

Awesome Documentary, Great soundtrack.

This review is useless and lame !!!!
13
Christopher Frizzelle has no clue about the real message of this movie this movie, after reading this review, one phrase in the movie came to mind :.....“when you compromise the process, you’re an asshole when you start out and you’re an asshole when you finish.” Make no mistake about it though,.......that one is 4 you Christopher !!!
I found 180 Degrees South to be a story about searching for answers about over consumption and over spending,.....go one step backwards and look for ways to make our lives simpler !!!

Awesome Documentary, Great soundtrack.

This review is useless and lame !!!!
14
One more thing,......your comment :....."Then Johnson meets a woman who lives out in nature and is also a surfer and presumably he spends a bunch of time banging her (unaddressed by this movie)" is TOTALLY inappropriate, pure speculation !!! your lack of respect for the girl and Jeff, shows the kind of person you are,....vulgar.
15
Sorry but this was the best movie I have ever seen. I am from Montana and truly miss the wonders of the mountains and rivers not destroyed by us. 180 deg South is close to where they were going (ended up) but that is not the reason for the title of the movie. Remember the discussion of people saying that they could not go back. The solution was walking to the edge of a cliff and turning 180 deg and step forward. That is the entire point of this movie. Turn 180 deg and start moving towards using less. GREAT MOVIE.
16
I as well loved this movie. Critics like the one above make me laugh. Like tearing a very beautiful and inspiring movie apart makes you smarter than everyone else or something.

Good work buddy....you are the kind of person that this movie makes me want to get as far away from as possilbe.

Watch the movie again, and pay particular attention to the story of Easter Island. There is no opinion needed to grasp that concept. Out doing one another to the point that it becomes more important than survival? Take a look around you bro.......

What are you doing to save your soul? I bet you think about that a lot more than you would ever admit to anybody. Scary when you think about it, isnt it?

Do the right thing. There are sh***y movies all over the place for you to tear apart, if that's all your good at. This is not a sh***y movie. If people payed more attention to what was going on around them, and connected the dots a little bit, we might have a chance.....but, most people are just like you, so we really have no chance.

-Kurt
17
Much more than a movie, this film is a piece of artwork. From the cinematography to the soundtrack to the actual message that can effect and move the viewer (which is the point of art), this movie made an interesting statement that I've never seen in a documentary before. It's about adventure and discovery and conserving the world, and I could never imagine an educated human-being seeing anything wrong with that. The narrowed view of this critiquer clearly shows a lack of imagination and lack of experience in and about the world. Like someone previously said, anyone who has tasted adventure can readily appreciate the effort behind this movie, and also applaude its accomplishments of highlighting the importance of preserving the beauty of the earth.
What I enjoyed most about this movie was the lack of visual presence of the narrator. Jeff Johnson obviously shows himself in the movie, but it isn't a hand-held, camera-in-the-face sort of presence. Instead he concentrates the film footage towards the environment, the places he visits and the people he comes across. That fact alone exhibits the intent behind the movie: he's not out to become a celebrity, and if anything he's attempting to magnify a problem in an effort to reach a responsible solution.
I applaude this movie, the people who made it, and the people who were moved by it. Perhaps before we offer up ignorant critiques we should research our subjects a little more closely.
18
SAT question: pseudo academic movie critics are to Independent travel/adventure documentaries as mechanics are to: 1) dentists 2) surgeons 3) glass blowers. Get my drift? I never understood why they have movie critics reviewing these films.....now I understand even less. This guy sounds like he has absolutely zero affinity for the people in/purpose of this film. The bigger, and far more interesting, review here would be the reason this person is paid for this.
19
SAT question: Pseudo academic movie critics are to independent adventure/travel documentaries as Mechanics are to: 1) Surgeons 2) Dentists 3) Glass blowers. 4) None of the above. Get my drift? Why this person is being paid for this review would be a better review. My husband and I loved this movie. We learned a lot, got to see footage that is beautifully and professionally filmed, loved the music and the fact that the locations were shared by the musicians, not just seen from a production screen in Sherman Oaks, while they edited, and these men's accomplishments would otherwise remain unknown by many if not for this film. I think it's a great little film. I think this review is a pathetic small opinion from someone who obviously has no interest in adventure, human potential, sports, conservation, or self improvement.
20
50-50

I agree with the reviewer, this is not a great movie as-such, but it is a pretty spectacular thing! Ok, the dialogue and aphorisms were a bit trite, but then again, watch any movie and you will find about the same sort of language. And in the end, 180degrees thoughtfully asserts its loose set of points through a variety of pleasantly didactic settings.

But the beauty of this movie was its unassuming self assurance. Compare it to Werner Herzog's two brilliant polar documentaries. While these were decidedly more innovative works, their self-consciousness surrealism infuses the stories with an ambiguous urgency.

Not so here! The take-away is basically: have an adventure, it is good for you, exactly because you won't know why until you do it.

This is good advise for anybody interested in changing themselves along with the world. While I don't think Herzog would have loved this film, I am positive that he, himself, ascribes to the above adage.
21
50-50

I agree with the reviewer, this is not a great movie as-such, but it is a pretty spectacular thing! Ok, the dialogue and aphorisms were a bit trite, but then again, watch any movie and you will find about the same sort of language. And in the end, 180degrees thoughtfully asserts its loose set of points through a variety of pleasantly didactic settings.

But the beauty of this movie was its unassuming self assurance. Compare it to Werner Herzog's two brilliant polar documentaries. While these were decidedly more innovative works, their self-consciousness surrealism infuses the stories with an ambiguous urgency.

Not so here! The take-away is basically: have an adventure, it is good for you, exactly because you won't know why until you do it.

This is good advise for anybody interested in changing themselves along with the world. While I don't think Herzog would have loved this film, I am positive that he, himself, ascribes to the above adage.
22
50-50

I agree with the reviewer, this is not a great movie as-such, but it is a pretty spectacular thing! Ok, the dialogue and aphorisms were a bit trite, but then again, watch any movie and you will find about the same sort of language. And in the end, 180degrees thoughtfully asserts its loose set of points through a variety of pleasantly didactic settings.

But the beauty of this movie was its unassuming self assurance. Compare it to Werner Herzog's two brilliant polar documentaries. While these were decidedly more innovative works, their self-consciousness surrealism infuses the stories with an ambiguous urgency.

Not so here! The take-away is basically: have an adventure, it is good for you, exactly because you won't know why until you do it.

This is good advise for anybody interested in changing themselves along with the world. While I don't think Herzog would have loved this film, I am positive that he, himself, ascribes to the above adage.
23
You are honestly one of the worst reviewers I've ever read anything from. You have no insight. Who gave you a job???
24
Christopher Frizzelle - you are an idiot!!! Please get this guy off of your review team because he obviously has no idea what he is writing about. He fails to see the bigger picture in life and has a condescending point of view. This guy needs to realize there is more to life than dogging low-budget films and should see that this film is not about how "Hollywood-esque" it is but about loving life and nature. Christopher could really use a change of careers because he sure does not know how to review a great film.
25
Of course you would review this movie as such; you are the exact type of person who wouldn't understand the concept and themes behind it. In fact, I would go so far as to say that you rarely if ever get out of the city into nature. And your comment about the banging? What is your problem? How inappropriate and unprofessional are you? I'm sure you enjoy sitting in the Starbucks near your shitty little studio apartment with your macbook to make sure everyone knows you are a writer, but have you ever thought that there is a huge population of people who want nothing more to escape and do exactly what this movie presents?

By the way, that "dangerous ocean crossing" that you commented on actually is very dangerous, and that part with the mast breaking is serious business. A lot more serious then your chain breaking off your single speed bike you fucking pansy.

p.s. That wasn't modest mouse

p.s.s. go fuck yourself and get cancer in your dick.
26
my god Chris.....you haven't clue do you.....?..please do us all a favor and drop dead.I wouldn't even let you review my shopping list....you chop!
27
I feel sorry for you. You had to sit thru this movie that you didn't really get. Go watch Meryl in the Bridges of Madison County. You'll feel better.
28
As an old big wall climber with a couple decent first ascents, and a few hard won adventures, I can say these are not the experiences that translate well in even the basic medium of storytelling. This review is spot on. Adventure can't be videotaped even when the taping is done so expertly. As for the environmental stances, these are the most selfish ways to describe them. None of it's so simple, and the comforting photography and complacent lifestyle posturing won't change that.

Great photography. Weird frat boy music (though pretty), and unlikely comparisons between adventurers and planet-saving. I'll take a science documentary any day!
29
I know this is an old review but if people are looking still I really liked the movie. It was a little slow in parts but the story is good. It is also subtle. There is not big business is bad. Save the earth. I am going to go get high and surf or try and do something really stupid etc. It is not adventure in the way it does not show harrowing tales that people should not have filmed in the first place. It is more real. however you have to be able to read between the lines.

For instance, my favorite quote was actual from the conversation that happens about 180 degrees south and I got a whole different story than the author did. I read it as you can walk north and step forward on your path. Then you can turn 180 degrees and walk forward and take a step forward. Which step is progress? Now you could use this in mountaineering or adventure traveling. Several times in the journey they had to turn around. Sometimes you have to go backwards and reevaluate the path before you can proceed. But you can also take it as a metaphor for progress of people. In Chile they used examples of pulp factories and hydroelectric dams. Sure, development of the nation requires use of resources and exports. However, where is the line drawn between what is progress and what is destruction of the resources that sustain the development. Like the example of Easter Island. It did not spell it out and tell you that, but it did assume you can read between the lines.

So go into it knowing it is meant for you to make up your own mind and really expand your perspective without preaching.
30
Also a late bloomed on this movie. Reviews for this move are awful! Clearly summarized by someone who had never made it to the country. Someone who has never got to experience the uplifting feeling of conquering earths obstacles. And for the reviewer there is much Passion behind the soundtrack. Friends and family singing about there own lifes journey. Obviously upcycledbliss understands the true nature of this movie! The title is not a location its somthing that is inside all of us and wether or not you decide to act on it is your choice. Turn 180 degrees and change the way we are living this life and destroying earth. I guess someone that doesn't understand that won't understand the movie that is brilliantly messages!
31
Beautiful photography but this is just an infomercial for Patagonia by an eco-slacker, who happens to work at Patagonia. The film starts off good but becomes too preachy after about 30 minutes.
32
This movie is amazing.. completely disagree with the review. I've been telling everyone to see this movie.

33
I wish some of these negative reviews had put more work into explaining why this movie is misguided. I think its the kind of film where you sense that something about the ideology it endorses is naive but you're not sure what. Until its over and you remember that the world is not acoustic guitar and dolphins and sex with Easter Island natives. What questions would have arisen if Jeff Johnson was more in touch with the human aspect of this planet- who works in these cellulose mills? The big wave surfer from Chile's forefathers bought the land for a horse? From who? Oh, other, native people, used to live on this land? Who else owns land there?

The morality of a dams and conservation is complex. As a rule an indie rock backtrack with summarizing voiceover is a ideologically and emotionally simplistic understanding of this world. The film was beautiful and I think Johnson's heart is in the right place but he has alot to learn. He should start with history-his Huxley quote contains more wisdom than he knows.

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