Final Ascent: The Legend Of Hamish MacInnes (CTBC)****
Dir: Robbie Fraser
Runtime: 83 minutes
WITH numerous ascents to his name, the countless times he saved lives, either personally or through the equipment he invented, the mountaineer Hamish MacInnes is indeed a legend. Not that any of this helped him initially when he was felled by illness.
Found unconscious and with his memory gone, the effect on his personality was such that doctors sectioned him. For all the challenges in MacInnes’ life, his comeback from this low point has been among his greatest and is movingly charted here in Robbie Fraser’s fascinating film. With contributions from Michael Palin, who first met Fraser while scouting locations in Scotland for Monty Python, Chris Bonington, and the man himself, Final Ascent does not have much to say about MacInnes’s personal life, but it is a thrilling look at the life of an unassuming hero.
CCA, Glasgow, May 6, then GFT May 10-16, and at venues around Scotland till June. See www.finalascent.co.uk/screenings
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