As a child, did you ever have a dream that you wanted fulfilled? When I was young, I wanted to be Picasso, but soon realized that I couldn’t draw. Next, I saw myself as a cutting-edge neurosurgeon and bought tons of books about the brain. When I realized that I would be in school for what seemed like an eternity, I switched careers yet again. Now, I’ve sort of settled into a flow and found something that makes me happy, but not all people swap one dream for another.

The Wildest Dream, a film from National Geographic, is a new documentary that retraces the steps of historic English climber George Mallory. He knew at a young age that he wanted to climb the peaks of Mount Everest simply because “it’s there.”

In 1924, Mallory and a film crew shot crude footage that allowed us to see his every step along the mountain climb. Mallory’s wife, Ruth, was also an integral part of the journey, saving all of his letters. He described the mountain with a reverence that you can feel viscerally. When he is first able to see the peak, he describes it as “a white-fanged tooth.” Photographers were able to catch him and climbing partner, Sandy Irvine, 800 feet from the peak of the mountain only to be covered by a cloud and never to be heard from or seen again.

This death-defying film captures famed American mountaineer Conrad Anker and British climbing prodigy Leo Houlding retracing the path that George Mallory and Sandy Irvine took in 1924. Some say that they never made it to the top, but after finding Mallory’s body 75 years later, there is evidence to support that they did, in fact, reach the peak.

Anker would argue that if Mallory was last seen 800 feet from the mountain’s peak, how was his body found 1,600 feet from the peak? It appears as if he was on his way back down after achieving his dream of reaching the top. Anker literally retraces every step of Mallory’s journey.

Many renowned actors such as Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Hugh Dancy and Alan Rickman lend their voices to the film, which provides a nice depth and stylistic presence. Seeing the time and preparation that goes into a journey like this is an eye-opening experience.

Grade: B+



The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest releases in select theaters Aug. 6.