Rotpunkt
2019 · 50 min · Sport Climbing, Documentary · Patagonia
Alex Megos was the first person to onsight 9a, and for years he treated projecting as an admission of weakness. Rotpunkt is Patagonia's portrait of what happens when the fastest climber in the world finally finds routes that refuse to go quickly, and it doubles as a history lesson: Kurt Albert's original rotpunkt, the red circle painted at the base of a Frankenjura route, is where the entire idea of the redpoint was born.
The film follows Megos from his home crags in Germany to Siurana, where Estado Critico shuts him down day after day. Watching a talent this outrageous learn to fail, and to care about something enough to keep failing, is the real story. The climbing footage is superb, but the film's best moments are quiet ones: Megos and his mentors talking about what a single ascent is actually worth.
Review
Patagonia's best climbing film, and the reason is that it is about failure. Alex Megos was the first person to onsight 9a, and for years he treated projecting as an admission of weakness. Rotpunkt follows him from his home crags in the Frankenjura to Spain, where a route refuses to go quickly, and it doubles as a history of the redpoint itself: Kurt Albert's painted red circle at the base of a Frankenjura route is where the idea was born.
This is for anyone who wants to watch a talent this outrageous learn to fail, and to care about something enough to keep failing. It is also the film I would show a non-climber who thinks the sport is about strength. Skip it if you want a send. The film's best moments are quiet ones, Megos and his mentors talking about what a single ascent is worth, and the climbing footage, which is superb, serves those conversations.
What works is the history lesson. Tying Megos to Albert gives the film a spine most athlete portraits lack, and the Frankenjura footage is the best I have seen of that crag. What it gets wrong is that fifty minutes sits with the doubt so long that the resolution feels abrupt.
Rotpunkt: Bibliographie is the sequel chapter, seventeen minutes at Céüse on the route that became his hardest. Watch Rotpunkt first. Bibliographie is the payoff, and it does not work without the setup.
