No. 13 (2022) TORN Feb. 15th.

 

Film No. 13 (2022)  January. 15th.  8.35 PM   DISNEY CHANNEL,  Mt. Hawthorn, West Australia.

 

"Conrad got a phone call, he told me "it has to be him" it was like he came back to life, he showed up." (Jennifer recounts the day she heard the news about her lost husband, coming from the mountains in Tibet).

Alex Lowe was one of the worlds leading adventurers. It was extraordinary to see the lengths he and (often) his best mate Conrad Anker extended themselves to, when it came to human adventure and endeavour. Lowe was paid big money to spend long periods of his life in the Himalayan mountains, leading expeditions. He also had a family. A wife, Jennifer and three young boys. Then, sadly, he perished in an avalanche, his body buried under tonnes of snow. Sad, sad, sad.

Thirty years later Lowe's oldest son Max has created a most personal account, not just of the feats of his father, but mostly about how a family coped through the years. Losing a world renowned adventure icon, but more importantly a husband, father and best friend took its toll. TORN is extremely engaging and heartfelt. 

Max is neither a journalist or professional film maker. Maybe this is the reason the film is so at one with its audience. He doesn't try to document an adventure film about the man who was possibly the greatest mountaineer of all time, he gives a personal account of what life was like without his dad around. He shares his impressions and the trials his heartbroken mum Jennifer faced bringing up three young boys, Max, Sam and Isaac. He challenges his younger brothers to reveal all about coping with that loss as junior school aged kids.

But the real dimension added to TORN comes when we learn of the role Alex's best friend Conrad played in shaping the family's future. Conrad was on the mountain with Alex that fateful day. In Conrad's words "I went left and Alex went right" ..... Conrad escaped, and lived to tell more than just a tale. He did much more!

I hadn't seen a trailer for TORN. I knew nothing of Alex Lowe. My pastimes are not of the adventurer type. Not knowing the story allowed the revelations at key moments enhance an already engrossing story. Most people will have a similar experience to me, I'm betting. TORN is a documentary that will stay with you for some time; Max Lowe's prime objective, no doubt.  10GUMS.