Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Touching the Void

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Excruciatingly tense story of a terrible accident.

Movie NR 2004 106 minutes
Touching the Void Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

TOUCHING THE VOID tells the true story of 20-somethings Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, who set out to be the first climbers ever to climb the west face of the 21,000-foot Siula Grande in the Andes. They make it to the top, but on the way down Simpson falls and shatters his leg. Yates risks his own life to help Simpson descend, lowering him 150 feet at a time with a rope holding them together. But when Simpson falls again and Yates can't see or hear him, the rope that connected them was pulling Yates to certain death. Yates, believing Simpson must be dead, cuts the rope. He searches for Simpson with no luck and barely makes it back to base camp. Meanwhile, over the next four days Simpson faces certain death but refuses to give up. Simpson fell into a 150-foot crevasse. By going down further into the crevasse instead of trying to climb out of it, he manages to escape. Facing a series of obstacles that would challenge a mythological hero, Simpson perseveres. Even when he accepts that death was inevitable, he still kept going because "I didn't want to die alone." At times angry, terrified, and delirious, he keeps trying anything and everything he could think of to get back home.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (3 ):

Director Kevin Macdonald reaches his own summit with an electrifyingly thrilling movie that makes the mountain more than a setting, almost another character in the story. The sheerness of the slope, the friable "meringues" and "cornices" of snow, the sweep and sparkle of the ice -- the mountain's terrible beauty is alternately austere, majestic, implacable, ominous, and menacing.

Macdonald lets Simpson, Yates, and Richard Hawking, who was waiting for them at base camp, tell the story in understated British style, as two actor/climbers re-enact the story on the actual site. Incredibly, Yates and Simpson returned to the Andes for the filming and put on their gear and performed some of the re-enactments themselves. Their story is gripping and, in their perseverance and dedication, deeply moving. Simpson's first comment when he sees Yates is as heart-wrenching as any of his struggles. Their candid but matter-of-fact delivery is far more effective than any actor could muster.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Simpson's statement that the important thing was to act, even if the decision was the wrong one. What made Simpson refuse to give up?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate